High quality dental treatment and community dental service in neighborhoods where disabled, elderly, and medically compromised patients are recuperating is crucial for the improvement and lifelong maintenance of the oral health of community inhabitants.
The purpose of this study was to determine the present state of dental treatment and/or oral health needs of disabled, elderly, and medically compromised patients in the home environment.
Care Managers working for the municipality sent a systemic/dental health questionnaire to 120 people (35 male and 85 female, average age 80.0 years old, 7.7 SD) who had applied for Long-Term Care Insurance Benefit in Higashikurume City. We confirmed by telephone if the persons were certified as “need-for-care” and the level/category of care needed by each person as determined by the Long-Term Care Certification Committee in the municipality.
In our investigation of the relation between dental conditions and CNN (category of care needed) of the applicants for Long-Term Care Insurance Benefit; the results obtained were as follows.
1. The Relation between Dental Conditions and CNN.
a) The Oral/Denture condition of 50 of 120 individuals (41.7%) who applied for Long-Term Care Insurance Benefit had was normal, while 70 of 120 individuals (58.3 %) had problems.
b) Eighty-eight of 120 individuals (73.3%) were “I can eat normal food”, while 16 of 120 individuals (13.3%) were “I can eat soft food”. As the level of CNN decreased, the rate of “normal” tended to decrease and the rate of “soft” tended to increase.
c) Seventy of 120 individuals (58.3%) could swallow food and water ordinarily, and 33 of 120 individuals (27.5%) sometimes choked when trying to swallow. As the level of CNN decreased, the rate of “sometimes choked” tended to increase.
2. The Relation between CNN and the Dental Treatment Environment during recuperation.
a) During their period of recuperation, 71 of 120 individuals (59.2%) were “provided” with dental treatment. As the level of CNN decreased, the rate of “provided” tended to decrease.
b) Sixty of 120 individuals (50.0%) had “his/her (own) dentist”. As the level of CNN decreased, the number of individuals who had “his/her dentist” tended to decrease.
c) To receive their dental treatment, 48 of 74 respondents (64.9%) from 71 individuals were “went to a clinic in the city”, and 17 of 74 respondents (23.0%) were“went to a clinic outside the city or to a dental department in a hospital”. As the level of CNN decreased, the rate of “a clinic in the city” tended to decrease and the rate of “a clinic outside the city or a dental department in a hospital” tended to increase. Three respondents out of 74 (4.1%) received house calls from dentists “at home” or “at an establishment”. The results suggest that;
· It was possible to deduce that the level of care required (CNN) was often related to the patients'dysphagia and/or the dental treatment environment.
· Improvements in the dental treatment environment were required; it is very important that the patients and their families maintain relations with “his/her (OWN) dentist” over the lifetime of the patient.
· Especially it is necessary to have a more effective, multi-functional and costeffective system in the community. Even when the patients' level of care required (CNN) decreases, it is crucial to provide dental services in the neighborhoods where the patients are recuperating.
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