Oral health of elderly with different frailty levels from the city of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

ObjetiveOral changes in the elderly affect their quality of life, as it hinders eating, sociability, and emotional and psychological functions. This study evaluated the oral health of elderly with different levels of frailty.MethodsThe study included a community-dwelling sample seen at the Geriatric Outpatient Clinic of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas School of Medical Sciences. The oral cavity was examined and the frailty phenotype determined. The sample was then divided into pre-frail and frail groups. The Mann-Whitney and Chi-square test for trend were used for comparing the results.ResultsThe results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation. The sample consisted of 67 elderly aged 77.5±8.0 years, of which 61.2% (n=41) were edentulous. They had 4.8±7.5 teeth, a decayed, missing, and filled teeth index of 28.8±5.1 mainly due to the missing component (94.4%), and a decayed and filled root index of 0.45±1.21. The lower anterior sextant had the worst Community Periodontal Index. Most participants needed a complete denture, and 82.4% of those who already had complete dentures needed to have them replaced. Thirty-four (50.7%) elderly were pre-frail and 33 (49.3%) were frail. The pre-frail group had better oral health (p<0.05), but not periodontal health.ConclusionThe sample had poor oral health, clearly worse in the frail group.Indexing terms: Ageing. Geriatrics. Oral health. Public health.