Periodontal disease and systemic diseases in an older population

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between older adults' medical and oral conditions and their self-reports of periodontal conditions with clinically obtained data. Background: Concerns about oral health of elders and its association with systemic diseases have been gaining more attention. Methods: A total of 201 older subjects were interviewed about their previous medical and dental histories and were asked to complete a health questionnaire. Each subject received full mouth exam, including counting number of natural teeth remaining, gingival (GI) and plaque index (PI), CPITN and denture status. Results: Elders who completed health questionnaires had mean age of 62.5. Mean CPITN score was 1.62(+/- 1.12), PI was 1.57(+/- 1.48), and GI was 1.55(+/- 1.31). Women had higher prevalence of CVD and osteoporosis than men (p = 0.008, p = 0.0001, respectively). Subjects who reported bleeding upon brushing had higher PI and GI scores (p = 0.03, p = 0.05, respectively). Smokers were more likely to describe their periodontal tissues as unhealthy (72.3% vs. 27.7%, p = 0.01), whereas self-reports of healthy vs. unhealthy gums did not differ between non-smokers. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a number of systemic conditions are associated with indicators of periodontal disease, and self-reports of oral conditions are independent of systemic diseases. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.