Oral status of older people in medium to long-stay health and social care setting: a systematic review

Abstract

Background Older patients who spend long periods hospitalized or those who are in a situation of institutionalization represent a risk group in this regard, as many of them suffer a degree of dependence and need help to perform the basic tasks of personal care. It is therefore important to learn more of the oral health status of this group of patients in order to make a proper assessment of the situation and to develop protocols for its management. The purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic review to ascertain the oral health status of older people patients admitted to institutions or hospitalized for a long period of time. Methods a systematic review of the literature published in two different databases (PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library) was carried out, with 12 different combinations of keywords based on the following selection criteria: studies published in the last 5 years, in English and/or Spanish and/or Portuguese, with samples of ≥30 patients, performed in patients older than 65 years, admitted to any type of institution and/or hospital center for at least 7 days and in which the state of hard and/or soft tissues of the oral cavity were evaluated in some way. The selected articles were subjected to a thorough analysis. Results The search strategy covered 1.014 articles: 689 from Pubmed and 325 from Cochrane Library. After applying the eligibility criteria, five articles were selected for our review. The level of evidence of the articles was, a sample of 773 patients most of them were women with an average age older than 70 years old. Conclusions The oral health of patients aged more than 65 is worse than that of the rest population. Long hospital stays or being institutionalized in a residence makes this group susceptible to a worsening of their oral health status. It is necessary to develop protocols for the oral health care of these patients, accompanied by training programs for the personnel responsible.

Effects of Low-Speed and High-Speed Resistance Training Programs on Frailty Status, Physical Performance, Cognitive Function, and Blood Pressure in Prefrail and Frail Older Adults

“…Regarding the setting of recruitment, older adults admitted to LTI are often socially isolated, have more depressive symptoms, a high prevalence of disability and multimorbidity, and increased cognitive decline (129)(130)(131). In the course of time, institutionalization can make things worse by contributing with the exacerbating of preexisting conditions and with the development of new ones (132)(133)(134)(135). Hence, it is possible that different results might be found in pre-frail and frail community-dwellers.…”

Protein Intake and Oral Health in Older Adults—A Narrative Review

“…Oral health encompasses the condition of a person’s teeth, gums, oral secretions, jaw bones, and facial muscles [ 1 ], and is a key indicator of overall health, well-being, and quality of life [ 2 , 3 ]. While oral health problems increase with age, adults over the age of 65 have more such problems than the rest of the population [ 4 ]. These problems include tooth loss, tooth decay, periodontal (gum) disease, dry mouth, and oral cancer, all of which can significantly impact general health [ 5 ], and may be the direct result of suboptimal care of the teeth and mouth [ 6 ].…”

Comparison of the Amount of Used and the Ease of Oral Care between Liquid and Gel-Type Oral Moisturizers Used with an Oral Care Simulators

“…Oral functions, such as swallowing and oral hygiene, decline with age [1,2]. This decline is associated with a decrease in nutritional status [3] and increased mortality in older adults [4][5][6][7].…”