Objective: To evaluate the relationship between older adults' medical and oral conditions and their self-reports of periodontal conditions with clinically obtained data.
Background: Concerns about oral health of elders and its association with systemic diseases have been gaining more attention.
Methods: A total of 201 older subjects were interviewed about their previous medical and dental histories and were asked to complete a health questionnaire. Each subject received full mouth exam, including counting number of natural teeth remaining, gingival (GI) and plaque index (PI), CPITN and denture status.
Results: Elders who completed health questionnaires had mean age of 62.5. Mean CPITN score was 1.62(± 1.12), PI was 1.57(± 1.48), and GI was 1.55(± 1.31). Women had higher prevalence of CVD and osteoporosis than men (p=0.008, p=0.0001, respectively). Subjects who reported bleeding upon brushing had higher PI and GI scores (p=0.03, p=0.05, respectively). Smokers were more likely to describe their periodontal tissues as unhealthy (72.3% vs. 27.7%, p=0.01), whereas self-reports of healthy vs. unhealthy gums did not differ between non-smokers.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that a number of systemic conditions are associated with indicators of periodontal disease, and self-reports of oral conditions are independent of systemic diseases.
Keywords: Older adults; Periodontitis; Self-reports; Smoking; Systemic diseases.
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