[The subjective oral health of Parkinson's disease patients]

This article comprises a report on a research project on the subjective oral health of Parkinson's disease patients, related to the duration and the progression of the disease. Participants were 74 patients with Parkinson's disease and a 74-person control group. All participants were interviewed about educational level, smoking habits, length of time since the last oral health consultation, number of oral health consultations during the previous 5 years, daily oral care, type of toothbrush used, chewing problems, biting problems, loss of taste, burning mouth, xerostomia, halitosis, remaining food particles, painful and bleeding gums, tooth mobility, toothache and tooth sensitivity. More patients with Parkinson's disease than people in the control group reported daily oral care support and had chewing problems, biting problems, loss of taste, tooth mobility and xerostomia. Among the patients with Parkinson's disease, the prevalence of chewing problems was related to the duration as well as the progression of the disease. Furthermore, a relation was demonstrated between the progression of the disease on the one hand and biting problems and daily oral care support on the other.