Abstract
BackgroundDetermine the impact of poor oral health on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in community-dwelling older adults.MethodsCross-sectional study of community-dwelling older adults in Mexico City. Sociodemographic characteristics were obtained and assessed their OHRQoL according to the Geriatric/General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Clinical evaluation of their oral health: painful chewing, use of dentures, dry mouth, xerostomia, plaque, calculus, coronal and root caries, tooth loss and gingival bleeding. Finally, we determined the oral health of participants through Latent Class Analysis (LCA), excluding totally edentulous. The strength of association was determined (Odds Ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [95% CI]) through logical regression between the oral health categories (latent classes) and OHRoL in older adults, adjusted with the other variables included in the study: age, sex, marital status, living arrangements (lives alone), educational level, paid work status, comorbidity, cognitive deterioration, depression and use of medical and dental services in the previous 12 months.ResultsThe mean (SD) GOHAI score for the 228 older adults to 46.5 (8.7), number of classes to characterize oral health through LCA was three (entropy 0.805). The GOHAI mean for Class 3 (57.0%), acceptable oral health was 50.1 (7.1); totally edentulous (9.6%), 47.9 (8.4); for Class 2 (16.7%), regular oral health, 43.8 (9.3); and for Class 1 (16.7%), poor oral health, 42.2 (9.7). Significant differences were observed among means (p < .001). Using Class 3 an as a reference, the strength of association between the GOHAI scores and low OHRQoL (GOHAI 25th percentile = 24.0) was OR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.2–3.3 for totally edentulous; OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.2–7.6 for Class 2 and OR = 5.0, 95% CI = 2.1–12.1 for Class 1.ConclusionPoor oral health was associated with a negative impact on the OHRQoL of community-dwelling older adults.Clinical relevanceIt is essential to design and implement oral health care policies specifically targeted at improving the quality of life in this older adult population.
Highlights
Determine the impact of poor oral health on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in communitydwelling older adults
Clinical relevance: It is essential to design and implement oral health care policies targeted at improving the quality of life in this older adult population
We evaluated the goodness of fit of the model using a combination of the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) [22] and the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) [23] as well as entropy values to obtain additional information regarding model fit [20]
Summary
Determine the impact of poor oral health on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in communitydwelling older adults. Research on the oral health of older adults has expanded over the past decades with the continuous growth of this population sector worldwide [1]. Older adults keep their teeth longer, they suffer from poor oral health because of accumulated deficits in their oral cavity. The reason that older adults lose their teeth is not age but the burden of inadequately controlled chronic diseases and poor oral hygiene. This is compounded by the fact that they seek oral health services less frequently than does the rest of the population [1,2,3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
