The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors for root surface caries in the elderly and to evaluate the factors associated with gingival recession, one of the main risk factors for root surface caries. A total of 153 elderly people (35 men, 118 women) aged between 60 and 94 years ‫5.7ע5.37(‬ years) were surveyed. All participants were relatively healthy elderly who did not need special care in their daily lives. The survey was conducted in Chiba prefecture, Japan, and oral examinations and a questionnaire with face-to-face interviews were also carried out. Correlation analysis revealed that number of present teeth (pϽ0.001), gingival recession (pϽ0.001), bleeding on probing (pϽ0.001) and presence or absence of dentures (pϽ0.05) were significantly correlated with number of root surface caries. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis for root surface caries revealed that the risk factors for increasing numbers of teeth with root surface caries were number of teeth with gingival recession (pϽ0.0001), bleeding on probing (p‫)7100.0ס‬ and self-reported dry mouth (p‫.)4540.0ס‬ Sex (pϽ0.05), number of present teeth (pϽ0.001), bleeding on probing (pϽ0.01), the presence or absence of systemic disease (pϽ0.01), dentures (pϽ0.01), drinking alcohol (pϽ0.01) and smoking (pϽ0.01) were significantly correlated with amount of gingival recession by correlation analysis. Moreover, the risk factors for increasing number of teeth with gingival recession were living in an institution (p‫,)4420.0ס‬ number of present teeth (pϽ0.0001) and smoking (p‫,)7300.0ס‬ as determined by stepwise multiple linear regression analysis for gingival recession.

The purpose of this study was to investigate dental care utilization patterns in the elderly and to evaluate factors associated with regular dental check-ups in this age group. A total of 211 elderly people (50 men, 161 women) aged between 60 and 98 years were investigated. A cross-sectional survey by questionnaire was carried out on visitors to the Mihama Ikiiki Plaza (an institution for the elderly) in the city of Chiba, Japan between July and September, 2008. Items on the questionnaire included self-reported oral status, use of dentures, use of regular medication, oral problems, cleaning of teeth/dentures and dental care utilization patterns. The results showed that 135 (64.0%) of the responders had visited a dentist in the past year, 185 (87.7%) had visited the same dentist and 85 (40.3%) had had regular dental check-ups. A stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and sex revealed that the factors associated with regular dental check-ups were significantly higher ADLs (odds ratio (OR)‫934.0ס‬ in the partially insured and 0.192 in the fully insured in comparison with healthy subjects, p‫,)2100.0ס‬ visiting the same dentist (OR‫879.11ס‬ in comparison with not visiting the same dentist, p‫)3810.0ס‬ and cleaning teeth/dentures three or more times per day (OR‫269.1ס‬ in comparison with cleaning them two or fewer times per day, p‫.)8630.0ס‬ In this study, a higher ADL, visiting the same dentist and cleaning teeth/dentures three or more times per day were associated with having regular dental check-ups in the elderly. The best predictive factor for regular dental check-ups was a high ADL in the elderly.