Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the chief dental complaints and demands for different types of dental treatment among the home-bound aged requiring care, and to identify the factors that cause eating disorders. A survey was conducted of 1,055 aged persons living in urban areas in Japan who had requested home-visit dental treatment. The subjects were interviewed in the format of a questionnaire to obtain information on their dental complaints, demands for different types of dental treatment, oral health condition, chewing problems with their dentures, and general health condition. We also recorded the time of contraction of their causative diseases, the time when they began to receive care, and the time of contraction of their dental disease forming the chief complaints. The results were as follows : 1. By needing care new demands for dental treatment, such as dentures, had been generated. 2. The proportions of demands for different types of home-visit dental treatment among aged persons requiring care were ; 73.5% for denture treatment, 28.8% for periodontal treatment, and 23.6% for caries treatment. 3. 37.0% of the chief dental complaints occurred within 12 months after the aged persons began to require care, 16.8% within 24 months, and 11.3% within 36 months. 4. From comparison of the intervals between beginning to need care and the occurrence of the chief dental complaints, according to the types of dental treatment, the interval to denture treatment was shorter than that to caries treatment and periodontal treatment. 5. The shortest interval according to the age brackets was in the more elderly group (75-84 years old). 6. The chewing condition with dentures before requiring care had no relation to the time of occurrence of eating disorders after requiring care.
