Table 2.
Characteristics of the residents in long-term care facilities divided into groups according to plaque index (PI) and the level of oral hygiene
| Characteristic | PI < 2 Good oral hygiene N = 48 |
PI 2– < 3 Moderate oral hygiene N = 81 |
PI ≥ 3 Poor oral hygiene N = 102 |
P value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nurses’ assessment | ||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 81 (8) | 81 (9) | 81 (9) | 0.83 |
| Female, N (%) | 32 (67) | 58 (73) | 75 (74) | 0.42 |
| Education, < 8 years, N (%) | 17 (39) | 30 (39) | 32 (36) | 0.71 |
| Dementia, N (%) | 28 (58) | 55 (68) | 79 (77) | 0.015 |
| MMSE, mean (SD) | 16.5 (6.8) | 13.9 (7.7) | 12.8 (7.0) | 0.010 |
| CDR- requires much help with personal care, N (%) | 35 (80) | 71 (91) | 93 (91) | 0.073 |
| Number of continuous medications, mean (SD) | 9.6 (3.4) | 9.7 (3.9) | 8.0 (3.3) | 0.002 |
| MNA, N (%) | 0.052 | |||
| ≥ 24 (good nutritional status) | 11 (25) | 17 (23) | 11 (12) | |
| 17–23 (risk of malnutrition) | 28 (64) | 45 (62) | 65 (71) | |
| < 17 (malnutrition) | 5 (11) | 11 (15) | 16 (17) | |
| Swallowing difficulty, N (%) | 9 (20) | 15 (20) | 18 (19) | 0.89 |
| Daily toothbrushing, N (%) | 45 (94) | 73 (91) | 92 (91) | 0.62 |
| Latest oral examination performed by a dentist/dental hygienist less than 1 year ago, N (%) | 27 (56) | 36 (44) | 43 (42) | 0.13 |
| HRQoL index score, mean (SD) | 0.650 (0.148) | 0.628 (0.120) | 0.613 (0.125) | 0.098 |
| Dentists’ clinical oral examination | ||||
| Number of teeth, mean (SD) | 15.4 (7.9) | 14.1 (8.3) | 12.8 (8.0) | 0.058 |
| Brushing teeth independently, N (%) | 14 (30) | 15 (19) | 16 (16) | 0.069 |
| Food depris, N (%) | 19 (40) | 44 (56) | 69 (70) | < 0.001 |
| BOP, % | 70 (36) | 84 (29) | 91 (25) | < 0.001 |
| Caries, N (%) | 21 (46) | 48 (62) | 63 (62) | 0.092 |
| Reduced salivation, N (%) | 32 (68) | 59 (75) | 81 (82) | 0.060 |
| ADS, mean (SD) | 3.2 (1.7) | 4.0 (1.7) | 4.5 (1.8) | < 0.001 |
SD standard deviation; MMSE Mini Mental State Examination; CDR Clinical Dementia Rating Scale; MNA Mini Nutritional Assesment; HRQoL Health Related Quality of Life; BOP Bleeding on probing; ADS Clinical Asymptomatic Dental Score
*P for linearity