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Long‐term routine dental attendance: influence on tooth loss and oral health‐related quality of life in S wedish older adults
Author(s) -
Åstrøm Anne N.,
Ekback Gunnar,
Ordell Sven,
Nasir Elwalid
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/cdoe.12105
Subject(s) - medicine , attendance , gee , oral health , cohort , quality of life (healthcare) , logistic regression , cohort study , gerontology , demography , dentistry , generalized estimating equation , nursing , statistics , mathematics , pathology , sociology , economics , economic growth
Objectives Few studies have investigated the effect of long‐term routine dental attendance on oral health between middle‐aged and older adults, using a prospective cohort design. This study aimed to assess routine dental attendance (attending dentist in the previous 12 months for dental checkups) from age 50 to 65 years. Moreover, this study examined whether long‐term routine dental attendance contributes to oral health‐related quality of life, OHRQ o L , and major tooth loss independent of social factors and the type of treatment sector utilized. Whether oral health impacts of long‐term routine attendance varied with type of treatment sector utilized was also investigated. Method In 1992, a census of the 1942 cohort in two counties of Sweden participated in a longitudinal questionnaire survey conducted at age 50 and again after 5, 10, and 15 years. Information was collected on a wide range of health‐ and oral health‐related aspects. Of the 6346 subjects who completed the 1992 survey, 4143 (65%) completed postal follow‐ups in 1997, 2002, and 2007. Results Routine dental attendance decreased from 69.1% at age 50–64.2% at age 65. Adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed that individuals reporting long‐term routine attendance (routine attendance in both 1992 and 2007) were 0.3 (95% CI 0.2–0.5) times less likely than their counterparts who were nonroutine attenders to report oral impacts. According to generalized estimating equations ( GEE ), individuals who reported long‐term routine attendance were 0.6 (95% CI 0.4–0.7) times less likely than nonroutine attenders to have major tooth loss across the survey years. The effect of long‐term routine attendance on OHRQ o L was stronger in public than in private dental healthcare attenders. Conclusion Routine attendance decreased from age 50–65 years. Long‐term routine attendance had positive impact on major tooth loss and OHRQ o L supporting the principle of encouraging annual dental attendance for preventive checkups among older people.