Premium
Oral Health and Treatment Needs of Patients in Two Communal Nursing Homes
Author(s) -
Honkala Eino,
Rantala Erkki,
Nyyssönen Viljo
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
gerodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1741-2358
pISSN - 0734-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-2358.1984.tb00418.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dentures , nursing homes , family medicine , oral health , dental care , nursing , dentistry
The aim of this study was to describe the oral status of patients in two communal nursing homes and to assess the need of those patients for dental treatment. The study was based on a sample that included all patients in the nursing homes of two typical Finnish rural communes. Data were collected for the 132 patients who were examined by a dentist in the nursing homes. As background data for the study we used patient records and interviews. Fifty percent of the patients had no teeth. Among the totally edentulous, every second man and every fourth woman either did not have or did not use dentures. Only half of the patients could be classified as eligible for dental treatment. The main treatment need was prosthetic care treatment. The total estimated number of visits needed per patient was 2.4. The total cost of this treatment series was estimated to be 71 US$/patient. Based on this evaluative study, the dental treatment for nursing home patients could easily be organized by using one dental unit for three weeks.