How was the oral health of the older people in Tehran's Parks in 1396?

Abstract

Introduction: Following the growth of the older population, attention to their health issues has become increasingly important. One of the issues that have been considered for various reasons is the oral health of the elderly. The purpose of this study was to determine the oral health status of older people in Tehran. Method: This study is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. This study was conducted on 190 older people (113 old men and 77 old women) in Tehran's parks. The oral health status of the elderly was evaluated by GOHAI's oral health index, which has already been validated in Iran. Data were analyzed by mean, standard deviation and correlation and T independent test, using SPSS v.22 software. Results: The mean age of participants was 67.30 ± 6.87. About 57.90% of the older adults did not have any of their teeth. The mean oral health of the older adults was 43.04 ± 10.61. There was a significant positive correlation between discomfort score and number of missing teeth (P<0.001, r = 0.51). Conclusion: The results showed that the oral health status of the older adults is not appropriate in Tehran, which indicates the need to pay more attention to preventing oral problems and improving oral health.