J Agric Med Community Health.  2010 Mar;35(1):13-20.

Effects of Oral Hygiene Improvement of the Elderly Patients by Caregiver's in Rural Long-term Care Hospital

• Kim KW
• Yoon HJ
• Kim MR
• Lee HK
• Lee KS

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study was conducted to be identify the effects oral hygiene improvement of the elderly by caregiver in a rural.
METHODS
It recruited Fifty three elderly patients were recruited who admitted at a long-term hospital located in Mokchon city, Chungchungnam-do province. as the intervention group. Fifty two elderly patients group were selected another one long-term care hospital in Daegu city as control group. study was conducted for seven months. long-term care hospital. for seven months from Dec. 2007 to June 2008. For three months, the caregivers provide tooth brushing and cleaning artificial teeth once a day, to intervention group. once a day for three months.
RESULTS
Before the program there was no significant difference between the control and the intervention groups in general characteristics, prevalence rates of diseases, oral sanitary condition. Dental plague score was decreased significantly (p<0.001) before and after intervention in the intervention group. Using analysis of covariance for evaluation of the effect of the intervention, a significant difference was observed between the intervention group and the control group (p<0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
These results were thought to be used as important basic data to develop oral health management program for elderly patients who needed long-term care.

Keyword

Long-term care; Dental plague score; Oral hygiene

MeSH Terms

Aged
Caregivers
Humans
Long-Term Care
Oral Health
Oral Hygiene
Plague
Prevalence
Tooth
Tooth, Artificial