Assessment of oral and dental health of 65 years and older individuals

Our research was aimed to draw attention to the condition of mouth-dental health, the need for further dentistry evaluation and the treatments that should be done for elderly individuals who applied to Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic of Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine for any reasons. Our research was conducted as a face-to-face interview and a detailed dental examination through a descriptive and cross-sectional questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 23.0. In comparison, Chi-square, Mann Whitney U test and Spearman correlation analysis were used and p <0.05 value was accepted as significant. 380 people, 65 years of age and over 65 years of age, were included in the study. 47% of the participants were women, 77% were married, and 88% were literate. 48% are multimorbid. According to their own statements, 68% stated that while there was no problem with oral health, in another question, 36% of the individuals required dental treatment. The rate of those going to dentist in the last 1 year is 29%. When the dental treatments to be applied to the participants were examined, the need for the prothesis construction, repair or control was found to be the highest (%47; n=54). According to the oral-dental health scale, 44.5% of the individuals (n = 170) should be evaluated by the dentist. OHAT total score average was calculated as 1,78. According to this result, oral-dental health of the individuals participating in the research is closer to health. In our research, the problems about oral health and dental health, which are frequently encountered in all health problems, and the questions that the family physician might ask elderly patients were mentioned. When family physicians serve elderly patients, they should also be able to examine their oral and dental health and make the necessary dentist referrals. Key words: family medicine, elderly, oral and dental health.