Oral health‐related quality of life among home‐dwelling older people with and without domiciliary care

Abstract

ObjectivesThe aim was to compare oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) between home‐dwelling older people with and without domiciliary care when adjusted for gender, education, use of dental services and removable dental prostheses.BackgroundOHRQoL of home‐dwelling older people with and without domiciliary care is a neglected area of research, with few studies having been conducted.Materials and MethodsA secondary analysis was conducted on the Finnish Health 2011 interview data. Home‐dwelling participants (age ≥ 70) with or without domiciliary care were included (n = 758). OHRQoL was measured with the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP‐14) calculating three outcomes: prevalence of at least one impact reported: “occasionally,” “fairly often” or “very often” (OFoVo), severity as mean sum score and mean of the seven OHIP‐14 dimensions. These were evaluated by use of domiciliary care using logistic and negative binomial regression analyses.ResultsDomiciliary care clients tended to have poorer OHRQoL than non‐clients (severity mean 4.33 vs 4.11, P = .057), especially men (6.71 vs 4.15, P = .027), and reported more psychological discomfort than non‐clients (mean 1.10 vs 0.82, P = .039). The use of removable dental prostheses was the strongest predictor (OR 2.84, P < .001) of poor OHRQoL.ConclusionDomiciliary care clients tended to report poorer OHRQoL, especially with regard to psychological discomfort dimension than non‐clients. Thus, support of oral hygiene and regular utilisation of oral health services should be part of domiciliary care among older people to enhance OHRQoL.

Oral status of older adults receiving home medical care: A cross‐sectional study

“…Similar to our results, previous studies have reported that duration since the previous dental visit was not associated with oral status; 5,39 however, the authors of these previous papers noted that their results were potentially limited by the small number of participants and selection bias. In the present study, it was also inferred that those who had not seen a dentist for a short period had better oral health, and as a result, they may not have felt the need for a dental visit, meaning that they did not consent to it.…”

“…Owing to the decline in interest in the oral cavity 38 and the deterioration of the general health of older adults, many older adults fail to receive routine dental examinations, prolonging the duration since the previous dental visit for years. 5,7,8,10,11,39 Dentists face several barriers, such as low medical fees for the outpatient dental care of older adults with complex general conditions and oral issues, lack of skills, and systemic barriers such as difficulties associated with referrals to specialized institutions. 13 As such, necessary dental treatment could not be performed.…”

“…However, even if the previous visit was less than a year ago, the participants' poor oral status (i.e., the presence of teeth for extraction) was a serious issue, emphasizing the need for measures such as interdisciplinary collaboration and regular dental visits. Owing to the decline in interest in the oral cavity 38 and the deterioration of the general health of older adults, many older adults fail to receive routine dental examinations, prolonging the duration since the previous dental visit for years 5,7,8,10,11,39 . Dentists face several barriers, such as low medical fees for the outpatient dental care of older adults with complex general conditions and oral issues, lack of skills, and systemic barriers such as difficulties associated with referrals to specialized institutions 13 .…”