The oral health of rest home residents with dementia

Abstract

There are increasing numbers of dentate older people in New Zealand and a proportion of them have dementia. To date, there are no data describing the oral health of older people with dementia in a New Zealand setting, partly because of the substantial challenges in performing an intra-oral examination and providing dental treatment for an older person with dementia. In this study, the World Health Organisation criteria for carrying out oral health surveys were used to examine a convenience sample of 60 dentate older Auckland people with dementia. The oral health of these individuals was characterised by a widespread need for simple periodontal treatment and a moderate need for restorative dental care. The presence of decayed-retained roots has not been previously reported for such a group, and a number of individuals required their extraction. The provision of dental extractions and restorative dental care for these individuals has substantial resource allocation and service provision implications. Managing some people with dementia requires a general anaesthetic; this can be complicated by medical comorbidities and thus requires treatment within a hospital setting. The data from this study can now be used to formulate a long-term service plan for this group of older people, whose numbers are expected to increase in the coming years.