Oral Health and the Frail Elderly

The relationships between oral health conditions and frailty have rarely been explored. A systematic review of frailty components and oral health concluded that differences in study population endpoint criteria and study design cannot establish a relationship between frailty and oral health.

This study aims to describe the distribution of the OHAT (Oral Health Assessment Tool) score in a population of frail subjects and to assess associated parameters (age, socio-economic status, living conditions, education level, nutritional habits, cognitive functioning, autonomy).

Cross-sectional observational study among patients referred to the Geriatric Frailty Clinic.

1314 patients participated in different standardized tests to evaluate their health status, cognitive and affective functioning, adaptation to usual daily activities, nutritional status, and oral health status.

The risk of oral health deterioration was higher with the appearance of frailty: the OHAT increased significantly with the Fried Frailty Score (p<0.001). Physical performance and oral health were correlated (p<0.001). The OHAT score and the MNA (Mini Nutritional Assessment) score were significantly correlated: oral status seemed better for malnourished subjects (p<0.001). Dementia significantly increased the risk of an unhealthy oral status (p<0.001). There was no significant correlation between oral status and depression, just a trend.

This pilot study establishes a relationship between the OHAT and Fried Frailty Criteria in a population of frail elderly. It must be expanded to follow the distribution of the different items composing the OHAT score (items assessing lips; tongue; gums and tissues; saliva; natural teeth; dentures; oral cleanliness; and dental pain) with different parameters (age, socio-economic status, living conditions, educational level, medical history, drug treatment, nutritional habits, cognitive functioning, disabilities and handicaps).