Oral Health Status of Elderly People Living in Different Old Homes of Karachi

ABSTRACTObjective: To assess the oral health status of elderly people living in Karachi based old home. Methodology: Study setting: Different old homes in Karachi. Study Type: descriptive cross sectional, Duration: 2-3 months. Older adults aged 65 and above who are mentally stable and have given consent were included. Ninety-six old subjects were included via purposive sampling. Data was collected via a self-constructed Proforma with WHO Oral examination form. Data was entered and analyzed via SPSS 23.0. Expected outcomes include higher Decayed Missing Filled Teeth (DMFT) scores, as well as a higher rate of periodontal disease resulting in higher rate of tooth loss.Results: A total of Fifty-nine males and 37 females were included in the study.70.8% had Bleeding on probing (BOP). Sixty two percent had pocketing of 4-5 mm. 66.6% had a greater decayed component, and eighty five percent had missing teeth. T test results showed that the Decayed component was significantly associated with gender (p 0.01) and age (p 0.01). The Missing component was significantly associated with age only (p 0.00). The Decayed Missing Filled Teeth DMFT index was significantly associated with gender (p 0.00), systemic disease (p 0.04) and age (p 0.02). The Community Probing Index CPI was found significant with gender (0.01) and age (p 0.05). ANOVA test showed that Decayed, Missing component and DMFT were significantly associated with marital status only (p 0.001, p 0.09 and 0.00 respectively).Conclusion: Oral health status worsens with age as shown by the current study. Old home people are more vulnerable to debilitating condition and hence need more care.