1Reader and Head of the Department, Sathyabama Dental College and Hospital, Chennai
2Former Student, Sathyabama Dental College and Hospital, Chennai
*Corresponding Author: Dr. V. Anu, Reader and Head of the Department, Sathyabama Dental College and Hospital, Chennai
Online published on 11 July, 2019.
The aim of the study was to self-assess the oral health and risk of the elderly population living in affordable and non-affordable old age homes in South India.
A cross-sectional study was carried out among elderly people of 65 years and above and 600 samples (330 from affordable homes, 270 from non-affordable homes) were selected using cluster random sampling. Self assessment was done using WHO oral health questionnaire form for adults, 2013. The data were compiled in Microsoft excel sheet based on the coding of WHO oral health questionnaire for adults and transferred to version 20 SPSS software.
Descriptive analysis and Chi-square test was done. Level of significance was set as 0.05.
35% had more than 20 teeth in their mouth.37.3% had experienced pain or discomfort in their teeth or mouth during past 12 months. Majority(78%) of them graded themselves having good and very good gums and teeth respectively.418 clean their teeth once a day.82.3% use toothbrush.87% use toothpaste for brushing their teeth. Less than 25% visited dentist in past years. Of those majority of them visited for pain/trouble with teeth gums or mouth. Less than 26% of elderly had experienced difficulty in biting, chewing foods and speech. Almost 90% reports that they have not experienced any daily activities affected because of their state of teeth or mouth, Majority (>90%) doesn't use tobacco or alcohol.
The present study clearly shows that amidst all the oral health condition, the oral health related quality of life among elderly is found to be satisfactory.
Self-assessment, Oral health, Risk factors, Ageing population, Quality of life, Questionnaire survey
