Abstract
ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate if the Timed Test for Money Counting (TTMC) complemented with testing the range of shoulder motion by griping the backside of the neck (NG) predicts the ability of geriatric inpatients to perform effective plaque reduction by autonomously conducted oral hygiene.Material and methodsThis clinical validation study involved 74 hospitalized geriatric inpatients, 48 (64.9%) females, aged between 66 and 98 years (mean age 84.1 years). Oral health status was examined. Dental plaque was assessed with the Turesky modified Quigley-Hein Index (TI) on teeth and the Denture Hygiene Index (DHI) on removable dentures. The performance and duration of TTMC and NG were recorded. After autonomous tooth brushing and denture cleaning by the patient, dental plaque was scored again with the TI and DHI. Geriatric assessment data were collected from medical records.ResultsForty-nine (66.2%) geriatric inpatients completed the TTMC&NG successfully. Passing the TTMC&NG was significantly associated with better plaque removal on teeth and dentures by autonomously conducted oral hygiene. The sensitivity of the TTMC&NG for above average plaque reduction was 86.4% on teeth and 77.8% on dentures. The test revealed a negative predictive value of 75.0% to detect below average plaque reduction on teeth and 72.7% on dentures.ConclusionsThe TTMC&NG served as a suitable predictor for the ability of geriatric inpatients to perform autonomously effective tooth brushing and denture cleaning.Clinical relevanceThis simple and short test might help the medical staff to identify geriatric inpatients unable to perform effective oral hygiene by themselves.
Highlights
Hospitalized geriatric patients bear a double burden—besides the functional and cognitive limitations accompanying the aging process they have to cope with multimorbidity and acute medical conditions
Maintaining good oral health is important for geriatric patients because it is strongly related to nutrition intake, decreased risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and better quality of life [1,2,3,4]
To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the predictability of effective tooth brushing and denture cleaning by using an established geriatric assessment tool— the Test for Money Counting (TTMC)—complemented with testing the range of shoulder mobility by griping the backside of the neck
Summary
Hospitalized geriatric patients bear a double burden—besides the functional and cognitive limitations accompanying the aging process they have to cope with multimorbidity and acute medical conditions. In this situation, efforts should be Maintaining good oral health is important for geriatric patients because it is strongly related to nutrition intake, decreased risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and better quality of life [1,2,3,4]. Chronic periodontal inflammations persisting over many years are assumed to promote the inflammaging process, increasing the susceptibility for infections, malignancies, and autoimmune diseases [5]. Plaqueinduced oral diseases were identified as a major risk to a patient’s ability to eat, communicate, and socialize [11]
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