The oral health status of older patients requiring long-term care has been widely reported. However, while there are reports on stumps of teeth in outpatients, there are none on stumps in older hospitalized patients. Therefore, we investigated the current situation and annual changes in stumps of teeth in such patients.

 The participants were inpatients aged ≥ 65 years who received oral hygiene care from a dental hygienist five successive times (the first half of every other year from 2013 to 2021). Data on present teeth and stumps of teeth were collected from dental examination records. The mean number of present teeth, prevalence and mean number of stumps of teeth, percentage of stumps of teeth by site and tooth type, and percentage of untreated stumps of teeth were calculated and compared among the five care-receiving times.

 A total of 787 participants were included in the study for the entire period. The average number of present teeth was 13.2±10.1, 315 participants (40.0%) had one or more remaining root teeth, and the average number of remaining root teeth per patient was 4.0±3.6. There were more stumps of teeth in the upper compared with lower jaw. Regarding tooth types, incisors were most common, and molars were least common. The rate of untreated stumps of teeth was 97.9%, indicating that most stumps were untreated. There were no significant differences in any survey items when comparing the participants over the five periods, and no significant annual changes were observed. Older hospitalized patients had more stumps of teeth and a higher rate of untreated stumps. This was considered to be due to a worsening general condition and decreased independence in daily life.

 During formal dental health check-ups at 18 months old, children without caries are classified into type O₁, with a low risk of future caries, and type O₂, with a high risk of caries. Health guidance should be provided to guardians based on the risk level. This study aimed to establish the current status, review status, and issues of caries risk indicators and criteria used for this classification through a questionnaire survey involving 87 cities in Japan with public health centers. Overall, 63 public health centers responded, and more than 70% cited uncleaned teeth, snacking (including sweetened drinks), and breastfeeding/bottle feeding as risk factors. Many centers have detailed conditions for determining the risk related to snacking and/or breast-/bottle feeding. Many have also already reviewed their judgment criteria. In recent years, numbers of childcare hours have increased, making it difficult to evaluate the provision of snacks at childcare facilities. There are comments suggesting the need to respond to recent changes, such as the increasing use of fluoride gel, changes in the quality and quantity of children’s drinks, and ideas about parenting. Some comments also suggested that it was necessary to focus on disparities in parental awareness, knowledge, and health behaviors. Respondents said that comparisons between municipalities are difficult because there are no unified criteria for evaluation. Therefore, we suggest that it is necessary to review the judgment criteria to reflect both regional characteristics and changes over time, and create standard indicators to facilitate comparisons among municipalities.