Abstract
This study was performed as a preliminary investigation for the dental care service center for the homebound elderly in Chiba-city.
The general care and oral health status of the selected homebound elderly (n = 50, aged 54-93, mean age = 78.5, 66% female) living in Chiba-city were assesed.
Interviews and oral examinations were performed by a team consisting of a dentist, a health nurse and a dental hygienist.
The purpose of this paper was to analyze the subjects' dentition, eating activities of daily living, their prosthetic treatment needs and professional consideration for dental treatment. The results were as follows:
Regarding their dentitional condition, more than half the subjects over 60 years old had remaining root only or were edentulous in the Maxilla. Similar results were observed in Mandibula in subjects 75 years of age and over. The subjects who requested new dentures or asked for repair of their dentures account for nearly 50% of all subjects of 70-79 years. However, the percentage of subjects who requested new denture or denture rapair was less among those aged 85 years and over. As regards general treatment, most of the elderly requested of dental treatment until the age of 70, whlie these treatment needs declined markedly from the age of 80. Until the age of 70th, most of the subjects would be accepted for treatment by dentists in dental clinics. The number of subjects for whom treatment were judged to the necessary or impossible increased from the age of 80.
In eating activities (total independence, partial dependence, total dependence) with ADL, the activity of denture wearers was higher than the subjects who need dentures.
The main reason of no denture wearing for the subjects who were edentulous or lacking many teeth (more than 2/3 jaw) was the abandonment of dental treatment. Other reasons were no need of dental treatment, no means of transportation and no person to take them.
On the other hand, on examination by dental professionals it was judged that dentures would be made at the dental clinic for 75% of the maxilla group and 53% of the mandible group of untreated subjects. All of the 23 subjects who wanted dental treatment could be treated in a dental clinic.
According to the judgement by dentists, 12 subjects were judged to have no need of dental treatment of the 20 persons who answered that they needed no need dental treatment.
Of the 12 people who answered that they had give up dental treatment, the only 4 subjects were judged to not need or to be unable to receive dental treatment. Of the subjects who answered that they had no means of transportation or no one to take them, none was judged to be unable or not needing treatment,
These results indicated that the oral health problem for the elderly were not only practical dental treatment, but also social communications in relation to general circumstances of quality of life in the aging society.
