Department of Internal Medicine, San Carlo Hospital, 20037 Paderno Dugnano (MI), Italy
Research Article
Aging and Oral Care: An Observational Study of Characteristics and Prevalence of Oral Diseases in an Italian Cohort
Author(s): Dorina Lauritano*, Giulia Moreo, Francesco Carinci, Raffaele Borgia, Alberta Lucchese, Maria Contaldo, Fedora Della Vella, Patrizia Bernardelli and Guido Moreo
Background: Poor oral health is a common condition in patients suffering from dementia. Several aspects of thissystemic pathology contribute to causing oral problems: cognitive impairment, behavior disorders, communicationand, motor skills deterioration, low levels of cooperation and medical-nursing staff incompetency in the dental field.Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence and the characteristics of oral pathology in ademented elderly population, as well as to check the association between the different degree of dementia and theoral health condition of each patientMaterials and methods: In this observational study (with cross-sectional design) two groups of elderly patientssuffering from dementia, living in two different residential care institutions were recruited. The diagnosis of dementiaof each included patient was performed using the Clinical.. View more»