Dentitions of Long-Term Care Residents: Tooth Types, Roles in Occlusion and Association with Dementia

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Many older adults living in long-term care (LTC) environments have varying numbers of retained natural teeth. The objective of this study was to assess the disease findings based on tooth type and estimate the role of tooth types in occlusion. Methods: We conducted clinical oral examinations of 276 LTC residents. The disease findings were analyzed for each tooth type and to determine their associations with dementia. Results: In total, 67.8% of the participants had molar teeth. Premolars/canines were often present as residual roots and had caries. Deepened periodontal pockets and higher plaque index (PI) values for molars had odds ratios of 2.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] of 1.59–3.91) and 1.61 (95% CI of 1.29–2.02), respectively. Participants with dementia were more likely to have incisors and premolars/canines in the form of root remnants and higher PI scores for all tooth types (p ≤ 0.01), as well as more deepened periodontal pockets in all teeth (p = 0.029), than those without dementia. The median number of remaining molars per participant was 3 out of a maximum of 12 (95% CI 3.4–4.0); thus, they often lacked occlusal contact. Conclusions: The LTC residents’ molars were more prone to periodontal problems, whereas their premolars/canines often had caries or were present in the form of root remnants, especially in the participants with dementia. People’s teeth should be treated in an easy-to-maintain way before they move into LTC to enable daily oral hygiene measures and maintain oral health.