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Oral health behaviours of older Australian men: the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project
Author(s) -
Tran J,
Wright FAC,
Takara S,
Shu CC,
Chu SKY,
Naganathan V,
Hirani V,
Blyth FM,
Le Couteur DG,
Waite LM,
Handelsman DJ,
Seibel MJ,
Milledge KL,
Cumming RG
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
australian dental journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1834-7819
pISSN - 0045-0421
DOI - 10.1111/adj.12694
Subject(s) - dental floss , medicine , oral health , oral hygiene , demographics , dental health , gerontology , cohort , family medicine , dentistry , demography , sociology
Background The Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project ( CHAMP ) is a cohort study of the health of a representative sample of older Australian men. The aim of this paper is to describe the oral health behaviours and dental service use of CHAMP participants and explore associations between oral health behaviours with and general health status. Method Information collected related to socio‐demographics, general health, oral health service‐use and oral health behaviours. Key general health conditions were ascertained from the health questionnaire and included physical capacity and cognitive status. Results Fifty‐seven percent of the men reported visiting a dental provider at least once or more a year and 56.7% did so for a “dental check‐up”. Of those with some natural teeth, 59.3% claimed to brush their teeth at least twice or more a day. Most men (96%) used a standard fluoride toothpaste. Few participants used dental floss, tooth picks or mouth‐rinses to supplement oral hygiene. Cognitive status and self‐rated general health were associated with dental visiting patterns and toothbrushing behaviour. Conclusions Most older men in CHAMP perform favourable oral health behaviours. Smoking behaviour is associated with less favourable dental visiting patterns, and cognitive status with toothbrushing behaviour.