[Association among general health, diet and need of dental care among retired pensioners living at home].

Abstract

A pilot project was established in a Danish municipality with the aim of improving the nutrition of 67-85-year-olds living at home but who were dependent on domestic aid for purchasing or preparing their food. The project comprised health education and information concerning dietary habits as well as an offer of dental treatment to those who were physically or mentally handicapped. At initiation of the project, the persons (n = 110; 89% of the target population) were interviewed about their general and dental health, ailments, drug consumption, and diet. Furthermore, a clinical dental examination was made (n = 106). From these baseline registrations, the elderly were divided into subgroups: unbalanced, moderate, and balanced diet; low, moderate, and high consumption of, respectively, water/milk and coffee/tea; great, moderate, and no need for dental care. Systematic associations were found between general health problems and unbalanced diet. A tendency was observed toward more frequent complaints in the groups with relatively high consumption of water/milk and water/milk/coffee/tea. The strongest associations were found between general health complaints, handicaps, and masticatory deficiency on the one hand and great need for dental care on the other. Also, the group with great need for dental care was overrepresented in the group with unbalanced diet. It is argued that accessibility to dental care would improve the chances for the elderly to stay in their own homes.