Investigation of Oral Health Care in Nursing Homes

Abstract

Most dependent elderly persons die of pneumonia and it is known that about half of the cases of elderly person's pneumonia are aspiration pneumonia. In order to prevent pneumonia, improved oral function was adopted as a goal of in long-term care. We carried out a questionnaire survey concerning 279 nursing homes and investigated various questions about oral health care.
Most of the nursing home staff members understood the necessity for oral health care. However, the staff members felt insecure about performing oral health care. It was suggested that if the staff members participated in a training course for administering oral health care or could consult with dentists about oral health care at any time, they would perform oral health care with greater confidence.
These results suggested that it was important to educate staff members about oral health care and expand dentists cooperation.