Impact of oral health on quality of life among the elderly population of Joaçaba, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of oral health conditions on the quality of life of elderly people in Joaçaba - SC, in Southern Brazil. A survey based on systematic sampling of clusters was carried out with 183 elderly people that belong to old age groups. The survey was conducted in order to assess the oral conditions of the participants (use of and need for prosthesis) based on the criteria from the World Health Organization publication "Oral Health Surveys, Basic Methods", 4th edition. The oral health impact profile (OHIP) was used to evaluate the impact of oral condition in the quality of life. ABIPEME (Brazilian Association of Market Research Institutes) criterion was used, together with the level of education and the number of people in the household to determine social inequalities. The participants were mostly women (82%) and the OHIP mean was 10.35. No correlation was observed between the OHIP level and formal education or between OHIP and number of residents per household. There was a correlation of 0.240 (p = 0.001) between ABIPEME and OHIP. The OHIP mean for those not using maxillary prosthesis was 12.48 and the mean for those using it was 9.81 (p = 0.399). The mean OHIP for those in need of maxillary prosthesis for those who did not need it was 13.00 and 8.88, respectively (p = 0.014). The same trend was found for the use and need for mandibular prosthesis. The conclusion was that the need for maxillary and mandibular prosthesis impacted the quality of life among the elderly population of Joaçaba.

Autopercepção da saúde bucal de idosos de um município de médio porte do Nordeste brasileiro

“…No estudo de Biazevic et al 5 , os autores observaram que não havia impacto na saúde bucal relacionado ao uso de prótese total, mas existia essa interferência associada à necessidade de prótese total superior e inferior. Nunes & Abegg 27 encontraram em sua investigação que a dor de dente e a necessidade de próteses dentárias foram os principais fatores que afetaram a autopercepção da saúde bucal de idosos do sul do Brasil.…”

“…Medidas de autopercepção dizem mais como está sendo afetada a rotina diária do indivíduo e da população em geral do que as realizadas com base em um ambiente clínico 5 .…”

“…No Brasil, algumas investigações acerca do tema foram conduzidas, apesar disso existe ainda a necessidade de mais pesquisas para melhor compreensão dos fatores associados com a autopercepção da saúde bucal em nossa cultura 5,7,9,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32 . Resultados desses estudos têm demonstrado a associação da autopercepção da saúde bucal com variáveis sociodemográficas 5,9,25,26,29,31 , de saúde geral, de saúde bucal 5,7,9,22,25,27 , de comportamento relacionado à saúde bucal 23 e a questões subjetivas 28,30 .…”

Autopercepção da saúde bucal em idosos e fatores associados em Campinas, SP, 2008-2009

“…Biazevic et al (2004) 6 studied elderly people in a city in southern Brazil and emphasized the importance of maintaining the natural teeth and of carrying out oral rehabilitation by means of prosthetic treatment for quality of life relating to oral health. Nunes & Abegg (2008) 22 concluded that elderly individuals who were in need of total dentures attributed a higher negative impact on their self-perceived oral heath, particularly regarding their chewing function.…”

“…13 Among the factors that can infl uence the perception of oral health are socioeconomic characteristics, 4,12,17,27 such as educational level and income, and clinical conditions, 4,6,25,27 such as dental loss and the use and need for dentures. Despite the importance of assessing self-perception of oral health, few studies carried out in Brazil have focused on this topic using representative samples.…”