Oral hygiene and denture wearing on root caries in elders

Abstract

Objectives: to describe the influence of oral hygiene and denture wearing on root surface caries in community-dwelling elders in Hong Kong Method: The study population was community-dwelling elders aged over 55 years who had at least 5 teeth with exposed root surfaces and self-care ability for normal daily activities. Ethical approval from IRB was obtained. Subjects were recruited from 12 elderly social centres and they were examined there by one trained examiner using disposable dental mirrors attached to an intra-oral LED light and CPI probes. Status of the expose root surfaces, presence of plaque, and denture status were recorded. A Visible Plaque Index (VPI) score was calculated by dividing the percentage of surfaces with plaque visible to naked eyes by the total number of root surfaces examined.

Results: A total of 271 elders and 10866 exposed root surfaces were included in this study. Their mean age was 72.3 years (SD=6.2) and 77% were women. Elders with higher VPI scores had more carious root surfaces (linear regression, Beta=0.005, p=0.001). Dental caries was found on 2.0% and 1.0% of the exposed root surfaces that had plaque and no plaque, respectively (Chi-square test, p<0.001).The mean numbers of decay roots were 0.7 and 0.3 in elders who wore denture and who did not, respectively (t-test; p<0.001). The proportions of root surfaces with caries were 4.6%.and 1.2%, respectively, for surfaces that were in close contact with denture (within 3mm) and those that were not (Chi-square test, p<0.001).

Conclusions: Poor oral hygiene and denture wearing had a significant association with root surface caries at both the subject level and site level in elders.

(Supported by Hong Kong Research Grants Council, grant #HKU773711M)

This abstract is based on research that was funded entirely or partially by an outside source: Hong Kong Research Grants Council, grant #HKU773711M