A registry study of oral health problems and preventive interventions among older persons receiving municipal healthcare – PROSENIOR

Abstract

Aim: The aim was to identify planned and completed preventive interventions among older persons with oral health problems receiving municipal health care. A further aim was to determine the correspondence between oral health problems and planned preventive interventions among older persons with oral health problems receiving municipal health care. Design: Cross-sectional register study. Methods: Oral health data from the Swedish national quality registry, Senior Alert, were extracted for 4,024 older persons (≥65 years) receiving municipal health care in a county in Southern Sweden. Data were statistically analysed. Results: A large majority of older persons (97.4%) with assessed oral health problems had at least one planned preventive intervention, and approximately three quarters of the planned interventions were completed. There seemed to be a mismatch between type of oral health problems and preventive interventions as not all older persons had a planned preventive intervention related to their specific oral health problem.