Abstract
In recent years, it has been shown that oral care in independent and dependent elderly people is effective for overall health management, such as for the prevention of deglutition pneumonia. However, there have been no studies that have examined in detail the oral microbial flora, which is a risk factor. Therefore, in the present study, we attempted to identify microbes in dental plaque at two time points, at the time of initiating the study and again one year later, with the aim of studying the differences in oral microbial flora in independent and dependent elderly subjects. We also examined the correlations between oral microbial flora and the oral conditions and oral habits of the subjects. The mean number of types of oral microbes found in the independent subjects (n = 41) was 3.0 ± 1.3 at the beginning of the study, and was 4.3 ±1.7 one year later. The corresponding values in the dependent subjects (n = 20) were 3.3 ±1.5 and 3.5 ± 1.6, respectively. In general, the oral cleanliness of the subjects was good. In both groups, the aerobic microbe Candida sp. And the anaerobic microbe Prevotella melaninogenica were detected at the highest rates. Furthermore, in both groups, anaerobic microbes were detected at higher rates than aerobic microbes. High rates of Candida sp. were also observed in dependent subjects with dentures. Finally, there was a negative correlation between the daily number of denture cleanings and the detection rate of Candida sp. and P. melaninogenica in the independent subjects.
