Biomedical Research

The oral health of the elderly is lost or weakened due to economic poverty and systemic diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction toward elderly scaling and to identify factors that affect scaling satisfaction in improving the oral health of the elderly. This survey was conducted between Feb. 11^th to Dec. 23^th 2016, and the subjects in this study were 202 elderly people who received scaling in the public health center. The respondents are generally female (70.8%), have an occupation (14.4%), and have health insurance (67.8%). In terms of health, the respondents have hypertension (33.25%), experience inconvenience in mobility (3.5%), have diabetes (18.8%), and are afflicted with other diseases (42.1%), and, in oral health, the number of remaining teeth at 22-28 was the largest among the elderly. Also, the elderly responded positively toward mobility (90.6%), necessity of scaling (61.9%), and use of dentures (43.6%). Tooth brushing was most frequent after breakfast, but the least frequent before bedtime. The elderly who received scaling was mostly satisfied with it (96.5%). The satisfaction toward elderly scaling was significantly associated with insurance application (p<0.05). Largely, the elderly is in favor of participation (99.5%) As a result, the elderly who received scaling in public health centers were satisfied with the program. Therefore, a public oral health project can be implemented continuously and developmentally to promote elderly oral health.

Author(s): Jung-Ok Choi, Dong-Il Chun, Seoul-Hee Nam
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