Effectiveness of a 5-year Community Oral Health Program for the Elderly in Korea

Song, Eun Joo; Hwang, Soo Jeong

Abstract

Korea has been running the community oral health program for the elderly, including topical fluoride application and scaling. The aim of this study was to compare the subjective and objective oral health status of 345 participants according to the number of participants in the program and of 37 participants before and after the 5-year program. The survey consisted of an interview questionnaire and oral examinations. Analysis of variance was used to compare the variables of the 345 participants according to the numbers of participants. Paired t-test was used to compare the oral health statuses before and after the 5-year program in 37 subjects. There was no difference in subjective oral health status according to the number of participants in the oral health program in the elderly, including subjective health status, subjective oral health status, satisfaction with oral health, concern about oral health, need of dental treatment, oral pain, tooth sensitivity, subjective periodontal health, and subjective symptoms of periodontitis. The community periodontal index (CPI) of the 1 time participants was significantly higher than that of 3 times, 4 times or 5 times participants in the upper center, lower left, lower center, and lower right areas. There was a significant improvement in CPI from 2.59±1.14 to 1.41±1.54 (p<0.001) and positive oral behavioral change (daily tooth brushing frequency from 2.27±0.73 to 2.54±0.90) before and 5 years after the program. However, the program did not prevent tooth loss as the numbers of the remaining teeth significantly reduced from 23.77±1.84 to 21.95±2.03 over 5 years. We showed that running the community oral health program for the elderly for more than three years might have positive effects on the periodontal health of participants.