Prevalence of oral health problems in a Norwegian older adult population: The HUNT Study

Studies show that oral health problems are common among older adults. However, population estimates of oral health problems are largely restricted to individual subgroups. Thus, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of oral health problems in an older adult population comprised of both community dwellers and nursing home residents, and to assess differences between sexes, age groups, and these living situations.

This cross-sectional study used data from HUNT4 Trondheim 70 + , a part of the fourth Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT4), Norway. Oral health was assessed using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide - Jönköping (ROAG-J). Dental status and use of dentures were evaluated as part of the oral health assessment. A total of 1562 participants aged ≥ 70 years had complete data on ROAG-J and were included for analysis. Prevalence estimates were standardised using inverse probability weighting.

The standardised prevalence of oral health problems and severe oral health problems were 56.1% (95% CI 53.5-58.7) and 9.4% (95% CI 8.0-10.9). The three most common problems were related to teeth (31.9%), dentures (22.0%), and tongue (16.3%). A total of 9.2% were edentulous and 29.6% used full or partial dentures. Differences in prevalences between sexes were found for oral health problems, edentulism, and the use of dentures. The prevalence of having oral health problems, few or no teeth, and using dentures increased with age, and was higher among nursing home residents than community dwellers.

More than half of the population ≥ 70 years of age had oral health problems that indicated the need for preventive measures or further clinical assessment. This was especially apparent among the oldest and nursing home residents.