[Oral health condition of the population in special elderly nursing home]

With the objective of making clear the oral health condition of chronic disable elderlies and thereby obtaining information for oral hygiene education and dental treatment, 77 elderlies in a special elderly nursing home attached to a private general hospital in Niigata Prefecture were studied by an interview/questionnaire method and dental examination. The following results were obtained. (1) Their mean age was 82.0 years. The major causes of chronic disability were diseases of the cerebral blood vessel and these diseases accounted for 54.5% of all diseases. The mean period of their chronic disability was 9 years. (2) 49.4% (38 persons) of them was edentulous, and 47.9% (18 persons) of them was using complete denture. (3) The average number of present teeth was 4.6 in all persons, while it was 9.0 in dentulous persons, and 3.3 of which were residual roots. (4) Salivary occult blood reaction test was positive in 87.2% in the dentulous persons and 34.2% in edentulous persons. (5) Simplified culture test using STOMASTAT was negative in 48.4% and positive in 51.6% of persons using a denture. (6) The above results indicated that dental diseases of chronic disable elderlies are not treated appropriately. This study revealed importance of dental examination, oral hygiene education and initial treatment in middle-aged and older persons.