The oral health status of older patients in acute care on admission and Day 7 in two Australian hospitals

Abstract

Objective: to determine the oral health status of older patients in acute care wards at admission and after 7 days.

Methods: a prospective descriptive study was conducted in two acute tertiary referral hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. Oral health was assessed on admission (within 24 h) and Day 7 using the Oral Health Assessment Tool.

Results: a total of 575 patients were admitted under the Geriatric teams at the two hospitals. Four hundred and thirty-five (76%) patients had oral cleanliness (debris) scores in the 'not healthy' range with food particles, tartar or plaque evident in at least one area in most areas of the mouth, teeth or dentures. At Day 7 206 were reassessed. One hundred and forty-nine patients (73%) were in the 'not healthy' range and of these 127 (62%) had the same score as on admission.

Conclusion: poor oral health is common in older people admitted to hospital acute care wards and does not improve over a 7-day period. Given the link between oral health and general health the next steps are to determine how oral health can be improved in this setting and see whether this leads to better patient outcomes.

Keywords: Aged 80 and over; Frail older inpatients; Older people; Oral health.