ORAL INFECTIONS IN HOME-LIVING ELDERLY PATIENTS ADMITTED TO AN ACUTE GERIATRIC WARD

Little is known about the oral health of the frail and home-living eld erly. The effects of dentogenic infections on the general condition of the elderly are also unknown. We therefore set out to investigate 191 elderly patients referred to an acute geriatric hospital due to sudde n worsening of their general health. The patients' mean age was 81.2 /- 6.4 years (range, 67 to 96 years), and they had lived at home befor e hospitalization. The patients were examined and their diagnoses set by a team of physicians. The dentist's examination was also made bedsi de. Panoramic x-rays were taken for those who were able to stand (n = 148). Particular attention was paid to the occurrence of dental infect ion foci and systemic infection parameters of blood. Only patients fre e from other than dental infections were included in the statistical a nalyses (n = 184). Panoramic x-rays revealed dentogenic infection foci in 71.1% of the dentate patients. Periodontal condition was poor in 9 6.2% of the patients (CPI score, 2 to 4). All infection parameters wer e high in patients with high periodontal treatment need, but the diffe rences were not statistically significant. Neither were there statisti cally significant correlations between the number of dentogenic infect ion foci recorded from the radiographs and infection parameters of blo od. More of the edentulous patients had positive salivary yeast counts than did the dentate patients (84.4% vs. 66.1%; P < 0.05). No correla tion was found between the main systemic diagnoses and dental infectio ns. Since the prevalence of dentogenic infection foci in our subjects was high, and they did not cause marked increase in the hematological infection parameters investigated, it seems clear that geriatricians s hould refer their patients for dental examinations. Although our patie nts represent the home-living elderly population in a Nordic country w ith a high standard of Living and good medical care, dental care had b een neglected regardless of the patients' systemic disease.