Oral Health in Nursing Home Residents—Preliminary Results of an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the oral status of nursing home residents diagnosed with dementia in the Lisbon region, Portugal. In this cross-sectional observational pilot study, the oral and dental status were evaluated by determining the Decayed-Missing-Filled-Tooth (DMFT) index, frequency of oral hygiene, presence of erosion lesions or mucosal lesions, presence of dentures, and Shorted Xerostomia Inventory (SXI-5). This study aims to be a starting point for a broad analysis of this population and a further determination of potential associations between oral status and anamnestic factors as well as dementia data.

Keywords

• oral health
• nursing home
• dementia