Knowledge, Attitude and practice survey on the perspective of oral lesions and dental health in geriatric patients residing in old age homes

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study is to analyse the knowledge about oral lesions, the symptoms of such lesions and their attitude towards the treatment of these problems faced by institutionalised geriatric individuals. Methods and Materials: This questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 103 institutionalised elders residing at various institutions. The questionnaire consisted of questions that addressed the medical and dental issues faced by the institutionalised elders and assessed their knowledge and attitude towards dental health. All the received responses were tabulated and the results were represented graphically. Results: The results of the study showed that 44.66% of the elders underwent medical check-up once yearly and 72.82% of them visited the dentist. Of all 103 elders, none of them used dentures in spite of being edentulous and only 29.13% had any knowledge about oral lesions while the rest had no knowledge of the oral lesion and considered these lesions to be normal changes with increasing age. Conclusions: The findings of the present study demonstrate the need to improve access to oral healthcare and dental health education for the institutionalised elder population. In spite of the limitations of the study, we were able to record the obvious lack of dental hygiene practises, neglect and lack of motivation for proper dental care.

Keywords

• dental hygiene
• geriatric dentistry
• institutionalised elderly
• oral health