This research is to figure out the actual condition of the oral health of the subjects in a nursing home through oral health recognition and oral healthcare. A survey is conducted through a personal interview of 179 individuals whom are eligible to ha...
This research is to figure out the actual condition of the oral health of the subjects in a nursing home through oral health recognition and oral healthcare. A survey is conducted through a personal interview of 179 individuals whom are eligible to have subjective judgement among 15 nursing homes. Based on the research, if seeking to promote the oral health of the subjects in the nursing home, the plans are as follows.
The subjects of the survey brush their teeth more than three times a day and, looking at their oral health, 64.0% of the subjects have the symptom of oral dryness and 68.0% of the subjects feel uncomfortable when chewing with the prosthetic appliance or artificial teeth indicating they feel the necessity for dental treatment. 42.3% of the subjects in the nursing home are in need of dental treatment but 53.4% of them respond that it is too difficult to visit the dentist for economic reasons. The rate of use of artificial teeth is 63.7% and the dissatisfaction of their use is 34.2%.
In case of the subjects, the rate of use of the artificial teeth is high and the rate of the inconvenience of their use is 50%. The reality of the subjects with little economic freedom remains only uncomfortable, old artificial teeth.
Oral health education for most subjects is insufficient. 22.0% of the subjects receive the oral health education and, furthermore, only 54.5% of the subjects have a tendency to participate. As the subjects are old, they gain knowledge regarding oral healthcare.
Oral health, closely connected with the health of the whole body, can be maintained, and promoted by oral health education. There must be a consideration to need a developmental plan for elders like oral health education, oral health care programs. For the economic reasons and inconvenience, elders have a hard time visiting the dentist so the government should plan for free denture distribution and insurance for artificial teeth and this plan should be implemented soon.
Preparing active and realistic oral health education is necessary to promote oral health and oral care and dental treatment systems to reduce the economic burden on elders. Therefore, our country and government should prepare a social security system for oral health and oral care.