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Article

Older People Living in Nursing Homes: An Oral Health Screening Survey in Florence, Italy

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Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
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Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
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Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
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Central Tuscany LHU, Piazza Santa Maria Nuova 1, 50134 Florence, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(18), 3492; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183492
Received: 30 July 2019 / Revised: 6 September 2019 / Accepted: 12 September 2019 / Published: 19 September 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Community Dental Care)
The oral health state plays an important role in the concept of ‘elderly frailty’, since institutionalized older people are prone to suffering from bad oral conditions. The aim of this study is to assess the state of oral health in the older residents of nursing homes and to measure its potential association with the cognitive state, the degree of functional autonomy, and the malnutrition risk. Methods: We enrolled 176 subjects from 292 residents in five nursing homes in Florence. For each subject, we performed the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, the Pfeiffer test, the Minimum Data Set—Long Form, a dental examination, and the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index questionnaire. The results show that the oral condition was poor in 43.8% of cases, medium in 38.1%, and good in 18.2%. A worse oral health state was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with a worse cognitive state and with a higher dependency in daily living activities. The malnutrition score among the older people was unrelated to the oral health condition (p = 0.128). It can be concluded that the oral health condition in older institutionalized subjects is an open challenge for the public healthcare system, since the maintenance of adequate good oral health is an essential element of good physical as well as cognitive and psychological health. View Full-Text
Keywords: oral health; dental care; elderly frailty; nursing home; cognitive state; functional autonomy; malnutrition risk oral health; dental care; elderly frailty; nursing home; cognitive state; functional autonomy; malnutrition risk
MDPI and ACS Style

Chiesi, F.; Grazzini, M.; Innocenti, M.; Giammarco, B.; Simoncini, E.; Garamella, G.; Zanobini, P.; Perra, C.; Baggiani, L.; Lorini, C.; Bonaccorsi, G. Older People Living in Nursing Homes: An Oral Health Screening Survey in Florence, Italy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 3492. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183492

AMA Style

Chiesi F, Grazzini M, Innocenti M, Giammarco B, Simoncini E, Garamella G, Zanobini P, Perra C, Baggiani L, Lorini C, Bonaccorsi G. Older People Living in Nursing Homes: An Oral Health Screening Survey in Florence, Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(18):3492. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183492

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chiesi, Fabrizio, Maddalena Grazzini, Maddalena Innocenti, Barbara Giammarco, Enrico Simoncini, Giuseppe Garamella, Patrizio Zanobini, Caterina Perra, Lorenzo Baggiani, Chiara Lorini, and Guglielmo Bonaccorsi. 2019. "Older People Living in Nursing Homes: An Oral Health Screening Survey in Florence, Italy" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 18: 3492. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183492

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