The Effect of Professional Oral Health Care Frequency on the Dependent Elderly

Purpose: Our research aimed at shedding light on the effective frequency of professional oral care for those who require nursing care from oral health specialists.Methods: Thirty-eight residents (average age, 80.0±9.4 years) of Niigata Prefecture who required nursing care agreed to participate in our study. They were divided into 3 groups; a control group (13 persons), provided with no professional oral health care: Group A (15 persons), provided with professional oral care once or twice per month: and Group B (10 persons), provided with professional oral care 4 times per month (once a week). Three dentists investigated the general health status and oral conditions such as dental formula, gingivitis index (GI), gingival bleeding index (GBI), degree of coating of on the tongue, and the type of pneumonia-causing pathogens on the pharyngeal mucosa. Professional oral care was provided by 14 dental hygienists for 3 months.Results: Multiple comparison tests revealed that subjects in Group B showed a statistically significant improvement in GI and GBI compared to the controls. Although there was a trend showing some improvement associated with care frequency between pre- and post-intervention, no statistically significant difference was found eventually. Further, no significant difference was found before intervention with regard to the types of pneumonia-causing pathogens on the pharyngeal mucosa. Only Group B manifested a tendency of decreasing number pathogens when compared to the pre-intervention numbers, although it was not statistically significant.Conclusion: Considering the limited time, cost, and manpower, a frequency of 4 times per month may be the most effective, but a higher frequency is recommended to prevent inflammations of the respiratory system.