Testing the ability for autonomous oral hygiene in hospitalized geriatric patients-clinical validation study

This study aimed to evaluate if the Timed Test for Money Counting (TTMC) complemented with testing the range of shoulder motion by griping the backside of the neck (NG) predicts the ability of geriatric inpatients to perform effective plaque reduction by autonomously conducted oral hygiene.

This clinical validation study involved 74 hospitalized geriatric inpatients, 48 (64.9%) females, aged between 66 and 98 years (mean age 84.1 years). Oral health status was examined. Dental plaque was assessed with the Turesky modified Quigley-Hein Index (TI) on teeth and the Denture Hygiene Index (DHI) on removable dentures. The performance and duration of TTMC and NG were recorded. After autonomous tooth brushing and denture cleaning by the patient, dental plaque was scored again with the TI and DHI. Geriatric assessment data were collected from medical records.

Forty-nine (66.2%) geriatric inpatients completed the TTMC&NG successfully. Passing the TTMC&NG was significantly associated with better plaque removal on teeth and dentures by autonomously conducted oral hygiene. The sensitivity of the TTMC&NG for above average plaque reduction was 86.4% on teeth and 77.8% on dentures. The test revealed a negative predictive value of 75.0% to detect below average plaque reduction on teeth and 72.7% on dentures.

The TTMC&NG served as a suitable predictor for the ability of geriatric inpatients to perform autonomously effective tooth brushing and denture cleaning.

This simple and short test might help the medical staff to identify geriatric inpatients unable to perform effective oral hygiene by themselves.