Oral Health Status of Primary Dental Care Patients with Chronic Diseases

Melisa Öçbe, Çetin Batuhan Öçbe, Elif Çelebi

Keywords: primary dental care, oral health, chronic diseases, general dental practice

Background:

Dental caries and gingival/ periodontal diseases are commonly occurring, preventable conditions. In the presence of chronic diseases, the oral manifestations of these diseases and the medication of the patients may affect oral health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health status of primary dental care patients with chronic diseases using DIMF-T and DMF-S indices.

Research questions:

Does having a chronic disease affect oral health status of the patient?
Should family physicians refer every patient with chronic diseases to a dentist?

Method:

A total of 205 patients from Marmara University, Oral Diagnosis outpatient clinic were included in the study. Study group was conducted with 106 patients with chronic disease (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory tract diseases, gastrointestinal disorders) and 99 healthy subjects (without any chronic diseases) for the control group was selected by simple randomization. The subjects were evaluated for oral health status with DIMF-T (decayed (d), unrestorable and hopeless (i), missing (m) and filled (f) teeth) and DMF-S (decayed (d), missing (m) and filled (f) teeth surface) indices. The stage of the periodontal disease and the type and frequency of the denture were also evaluated. Statistical analysis was applied with SPSS for Windows.

Results:

The study included 205 patients (96 male, 109 female), aged between 16-84 years (mean age: 43.01). The median DIMF-T was found 9.00 in the control group; and 16.00 in the study group while the median DMF-S was 22.00 in the control group, it was 53.50 in the study group. There was a statistically significant difference in the median DIMF-T and DMF-S regarding the presence of a chronic disease (p<0.001).

Conclusions:

The results of this study indicate that the awareness of the adverse effects on oral health of the chronic disease should be increased. Dental healthcare centers should be visited more frequently by patients with chronic diseases.

Points for discussion:

Should oral health be included in screening processes of family practices?

What are the global practices of oral health assessment in patients with chronic diseases and what can be done to bring them up to European standards?

What is the role of newly established family dentistry practices in improving the oral health of patients with chronic diseases?

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