Periodontal disease in the oldest‐old living in Kungsholmen, Sweden: findings from the KEOHS project

Abstract

The Kungsholmen Elders Oral Health Study evaluated the oral health status of generally healthy, community-dwelling persons aged 80 years and over living in Stockholm, Sweden. This paper reports periodontal disease findings and evaluates the distribution by sociodemographic factors. Eligible persons were identified through the Kungsholmen Project, an ongoing, longitudinal, population-based study of older adults. A total of 121 study subjects received a periodontal examination. The mean pocket probing depth was 2.6 mm and the mean clinical attachment loss was 3.7 mm. Gingival bleeding was common. Over half of all study participants met the criteria used for "serious periodontitis" (SP). In the best fit adjusted odds ratio (OR) model, males were 3.1 times more likely than females to have "SP" (OR=3.1, 95% CI 1.2, 8.0), a statistically significant observation. A sub-analysis of the differences in proportion of participants with SP revealed that the difference by sex also increased by age. These findings document the substantial and ongoing impact of periodontal disease in a sample of generally healthy, community dwelling older adults and underscore the importance of continued periodontal disease prevention and treatment in the oldest-old.