Prevalence of oral impacts in a Sinhala-speaking older population in urban Sri Lanka
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Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
1Dental Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Objectives:
To assess the impact of oral conditions on the quality of life in an urban older population in Sri Lanka.
Design:
A cross-sectional study where the data were collected by means of an interviewer-administered questionnaire.
Participants:
A total of 585 Sinhala speaking older adults aged 60 years and above who were residents of a densely populated urban area. Of the 585, 475 were living at home and 110 were living in institutions.
Outcome Measures:
Psycho-social and functional impacts of oral conditions were assessed using the Sinhalese translation of the OHIP-14 scale.
Results:
25% of subjects had experienced one or more impacts due to their oral conditions fairly often or very often during the preceding 6 months. Multiple impacts were reported by 17% of the subjects. The most commonly experienced impact item was "uncomfortable to eat" (17%). The mean OHIP score was 0.8 +/- 1.8. The prevalence of oral impacts and the OHIP scores were significantly associated with age, perceived oral health status, perceived need for dental care and dental visiting patterns. Those who visited a dentist during the past 12 months reported significantly more impacts than those who did not visit.
Conclusions:
Oral impacts that affected the quality of life were relatively common in this sample of older individuals.
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