Dental Treatment in a Nursing Home -Relationship between General Condition and Oral Status-

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In this study, the relationship between general condition and oral status was investigated in the geriatric subjects who were staying in a nursing home. Most of them suffered from cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, cerebrovascular accident, and ischemic heart disease and 80% of them showed abnormal electrocardiogram. It became apparent that the lower activity of daily life (ADL) was, the poor oral status and oral function were. The rate of partial denture was remarkably low in the patient with hemiplegia because of the difficulty in setting and putting off it. In the patient with ischemic heart disease, oral status was very poor because dentists hesitated to perform aggressive dental treatment. Loss of appetite was often induced by oral disease in the patient with dementia.We performed dental treatment on 156 patients in this nursing home for 2.5 years. The mean age of the patients was 79.7 years old. More than half patients complained of the trouble associated with denture. During this period, 19 patients died from various reasons. The oral status and general condition in patients staying in the nursing home is generally poor. Therefore the role of dental service in the nursing home care is very important because a patient can be followed regularly and dental care can be planed according with patients's general and oral condition.Blood pressure and electrocardiogram were monitored during dental treatment in 21 patients with cardiovascular disease in this nursing home. Arrhythmias such as premature ventricular or attrial contraction were often presented during dental treatment even in the patient who presented normal electrocardiogram at rest. The elevation of blood pressure tended to occur during dental treatment.