A study on the status of the senior citizens' oral health in some areas

일부지역 노인의 구강건강 실태에 관한 조사 연구

Objectives : To obtain necessary fundamental data for the development of oral health improvement programs for senior citizens in the manner of investigating the Status of their oral health. Methods : Data were collected from 346 senior citizens aged 65 years or older who had lived in Seoul and Gyeonggido province, Republic of Korea. This study was conducted for 3 months from April 2011 to June 2011. Excluding those obtained from 34 respondents who gave inadequate responses to given questions, the data from 312 respondents were analyzed. Results : 1. The number of senior citizens who chose 'Sometimes' to as an answer to the question about the self-perception of their own oral conditions such as mastication, swallowing, gingiva hemorrhage, dry mouth, and/or oral malodor was the largest. As an answer to the question about the presence of interpersonal avoidance, 'No' accounted for the largest proportion. The number of respondents choosing gingiva treatment regarding the perception of the necessity for medical interventions was the largest. 2. In regard to the knowledge of oral health care, the percentage of correct answers was the highest for 'I brush my tooth before each meal' ($0.69{\pm}0.156$), while the lowest percentage of correct answers was seen for 'Gingival diseases can be improved by medications' ($0.33{\pm}0.472$). Conclusions : Based upon the above mentioned results, the author conclude that developing relevant national programs and support policies at a national level as well as implementing proactive and systematic home-visiting oral health programs at the levels of local autonomous entities or communities will lead to significant improvements in senior citizens' oral health and QoL (quality of life).