Prevalence of oral hygiene tools amongst hospitalised elders: A cross-sectional survey

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of various oral hygiene tools amongst hospitalised elders and to associate their cognitive status with the prevalence of tools and oral hygiene status.

Elderly hospitalised participants were included in the study and underwent a brief clinical intra-oral examination. A semi-structured questionnaire evaluated the awareness and personal possession of the various oral hygiene tools. Participants' personal information and various clinical parameters including DMF (T) index, plaque index, CPITN index, denture plaque and calculus index were collected. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were retrieved from the medical records. Linear regression models were applied for statistical analyses (P < 0.05).

A total of 100 hospitalised elders (age = 84.5 ± 6.9 years; ♀ = 72, age = 84.9 ± 7.2 years; ♂ = 28, age = 83.3 ± 5.8 years) participated in this study. Awareness was high for manual toothbrush (100%), electric toothbrush (86%), dental floss (79%), interdental brush (44%), interdental stick (55%) and mouthwash (75%), but was low for tongue scraper (9%), while the prevalence of use was 93%, 17%, 27%, 21%, 29%, 39% and 4%, respectively. Linear regression models revealed plaque scores were lower when more hygiene tools were used by the participants (P = 0.0059). Participants with high MMSE scores had lower plaque scores (P = 0.0004) and possessed more oral hygiene tools (P = 0.0203).

Poor oral hygiene is often noticed in institutionalised elders and might be related to a lack of knowledge about existing oral hygiene tools. These may help optimising oral hygiene, especially in cognitively impaired elders. Oral hygiene tools should be prescribed according to the patient's need, functional and cognitive status.