Does dental care improve the oral health of older adults?

Objective To assess the relationship between self-perceived change in oral health status and the provision of dental treatment in an older adult popul ation. Design A longitudinal study with data collection at baseline and aft er three years. Information on change in oral health was obtained by interv iews with study subjects and information on dental treatment over three yea rs was obtained from subjects' dentists. Subjects Nine hundred and seven su bjects took part at baseline and 611 at follow-up. Of the latter. 495 repor ted at least one dental visit during the three-year observation period and dental treatment information was available for 408. Outcome measures Global transition judgements and change scores derived from four oral health inde xes were used to assess change in oral health status. Results Over the thre e-year period, one-tenth of subjects reported that their oral health had im proved and one-fifth that it had deteriorated. Those who improved made sign ificantly mure dental visits and received significantly more dental service s that those who deteriorated or did not change (P <0.0001). They also rece ived a broader range of diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic services. Th e association between change and dental service provision remained after co ntrolling for other potential determinants of oral health. Conclusion The s tudy suggests that improvements in the oral health of older adults depend u pon access to comprehensive dental treatments which can address fully their clinical and self-perceived needs.