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Dental care utilization in patients with different types of dementia: A longitudinal nationwide study of 58,037 individuals
Author(s) -
Fereshtehnejad SeyedMohammad,
GarciaPtacek Sara,
Religa Dorota,
Holmer Jacob,
Buhlin Kåre,
Eriksdotter Maria,
SandborghEnglund Gunilla
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2017.05.004
Subject(s) - dementia , discontinuation , medicine , longitudinal study , parkinsonism , dental care , cognition , gerontology , tooth loss , oral health , psychiatry , dentistry , disease , pathology
Dementia may be associated with discontinuation of regular dental checkups, which in turn results in poorer oral health. Methods We investigated the trend of change in dental care utilization and the number of teeth before and after being diagnosed with dementia. Longitudinal cognitive‐ and dental health‐related information were merged using data on 58,037 newly diagnosed individuals from the Swedish Dementia Registry and Swedish Dental Health Register during 2007 to 2015. Results Following dementia diagnosis, rate of dental care visits significantly declined. Individuals with mixed dementia, dementia with parkinsonism, and those with more severe and faster cognitive impairment had significantly higher rate of decline in dental care utilization. Vascular dementia and lower baseline Mini–Mental State Examination score were significant predictors of faster loss of teeth. Discussion Dental care utilization markedly declines following dementia diagnosis. The reduction is more prominent in those with rapid progressive cognitive impairment and the ones with extra frailty burden.