Oral Health in Elders with Parkinson's Disease

This study aimed to evaluate objectively and subjectively the oral health of elders with Parkinson's disease (PD), using clinical oral assessments and the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Subjects included 37 removable prosthesis wearers, 17 with PD (mean age 69.59±5.09 years) and 20 without PD (mean age 72.00±5.69 years). The objective assessment included an evaluation of oral characteristics, including the number of remaining teeth, decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT), visible plaque index (VPI), salivary flow rate and removable prosthesis conditions. The subjective assessment included self-perception of oral health collected using the GOHAI index. The number of remaining teeth, DMFT, VPI, salivary flow rate and GOHAI data were compared between the groups using t-tests. Removable prosthesis conditions were analyzed using χ2 tests (p<0.05). There were no group differences in the number of remaining teeth, DMFT, VPI or salivary flow rate (p>0.05). Greater maxillary prosthesis defects were observed in the control group (p=0.037). GOHAI scores were low for the PD group and moderate for controls, yielding a group difference (p=0.04). In conclusion, elders with PD have similar oral health to controls. Although all elders had few remaining teeth, high DMFT and high VPI, PD elders had more negative self-perceptions of their oral health than did the controls.