Dental treatment outcomes among dentate nursing facility residents: an initial study

This investigation used retrospective methodology to examine the outcomes of previous dental treatment and the incidence of developing restorative and extraction needs, including dental caries, among nursing facility residents. Data were taken from treatment records of 48 dentate residents in 10 nursing facilities who received comprehensive dental treatment delivered through the Geriatric Mobile Unit (GMU) program operated by the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and were examined an average of 2.9 years after initial examination. Residents had a mean age of 84 years at the second exam, and 90% were female. About 18% of all previously placed restorations needed to be replaced, and an additional 11% of teeth that received a restoration needed to be extracted at follow-up. At follow-up, nearly 70% (33/48) of residents needed restorative care, while 44% (21/48) needed extractions. The mean incidence of teeth developing new treatment needs between the two visits was 2.7 teeth/person (14.9% of teeth) for restorative need and 1.1 teeth/person (6.6% of teeth) for extraction need. Results suggest that successful treatment outcomes can be achieved for nursing facility residents, but that dental disease and treatment needs develop at a high rate among these residents.