The impact of oral health on the quality of life of nursing home residents

Abstract

BackgroundGood oral health in older residents of nursing homes is important for general health and quality of life. Very few studies have assessed how oral symptoms affect residents’ quality of life.ObjectiveTo assess the clinical and subjective oral health, including oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL), and the association of oral symptoms with OHRQoL in older people residing in nursing homes in Islington, London.MethodOverall, 325 residents from nine nursing homes were clinically examined and 180 residents were interviewed to assess their oral symptoms and their OHRQoL using the OIDP measure. Managers and carers working in the homes were also interviewed.ResultsAlmost two thirds of the sample were dentate (64.5 %). 61.3 % of dentate and 50.9 % of edentate residents reported problems such as dry mouth, sore cracked lips, broken teeth and toothache and ill-fitting dentures. Oral health impacted considerably upon resident’s OHRQoL; 20.2 % of dentate and 30.9 % of edentate reported at least one oral impact in the past 6 months. Sensitive teeth, toothache, bleeding gums, dry mouth and loose natural teeth among the dentate and loose or ill-fitting dentures among the edentate were strongly associated with higher prevalence of oral impacts even after adjusting for demographic and socio-economic factors, and for the number of teeth (dentate only).ConclusionThe burden of oral conditions was considerable. Oral symptoms were very common and were strongly associated with residents’ worse OHRQoL. Health promotion programmes are important to help residents maintain an acceptable level of oral health and function.

Nursing home residents’ perspectives on their social relationships

“…The choice of lower resource NHs was intended to enhance transferability of the study findings to NHs that serve a high proportion of low‐income residents at risk for health disparities and to NHs that may be slower to adopt culture change. Residents who participated in the engagement sessions underwent screening to ensure they did not have cognitive disturbances that would interfere with their ability to participate using a simple cognitive test, consisting of four items including “what is your name?” “what date were you born?” “what year it is?” and “who is the current president?” (Porter et al, ). The data set of the parent study comprised transcripts from 24 stakeholder engagement sessions with 67 participants recruited by convenience sampling and included data from residents, families, nursing staff and managers/administrators.…”

Promotion of oral health by community nurses

“…For the proportion of nurses with a high regard for the oral health of all stakeholders, participation in specialist training aimed at improving the motivational aspects of health promotion could be used to enhance awareness and dissemination of the message to a wider audience (Porter et al, 2015).…”

“…Life expectancy rates are improving, albeit alongside resultant co-morbidities (Horton, 2012) and a worldwide recognition of an increasing number of older people who will experience difficulty in maintaining optimal oral health (Nitschke et al, 2010;McNally et al, 2011;Yoon et al, 2011;Willumsen et al, 2012;Cornejo-Ovalle et al, 2013;Porter et al, 2015). Evidence suggests preventative oral hygiene interventions either by the individual or those providing nursing care are effective in achieving optimal oral health (Nitschke et al, 2010;Kossioni, 2013;Porter et al, 2015).…”

“…Evidence suggests preventative oral hygiene interventions either by the individual or those providing nursing care are effective in achieving optimal oral health (Nitschke et al, 2010;Kossioni, 2013;Porter et al, 2015).…”

“…Extensive research over the past decade has shown the prevalence of sub-optimal oral healthcare in residential care facilities remains problematic (Nitschke et al, 2010;McNally et al, 2011;Yoon et al, 2011;Willumsen et al, 2012;Cornejo-Ovalle et al, 2013;Porter et al, 2015). There have been a large number of studies by dental health professionals around oral healthcare for elderly people (Griffin et al, 2012;Casanova et al, 2014).…”