Abstract:

  Background and Aim: The prevalance of periodontal disease is escalating among the elderly population and there are major information gaps in the region regarding this issue. This study was designed to determine the periodontal status and its related factors in elderly residents of nursing homes supervised by Behzisty organization in Tehran in year 2011.

  Materials and Methods : This cross-sectional study was conducted in all nursing homes in Tehran. The elderly with following criteria were evaluated: minimum one tooth, no mental disease and no need for prophylactic antibiotic therapy. The plaque index, calculus index, bleeding on probing (BOP), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and probing depth were evaluate. Related factors including: age, sex, education, smoking, history of periodontal treatment, duration of residency in nursing home, occupation, bailsman’s occupation, were assessed . The prevalence and severity of periodontal disease were determined and the Fisher exact test was utilized to evaluate the role of the related factors .

  Results: A total of 607subjects were evaluated, of which, 137 had the inclusion criteria of our study. 58 (42.3 %) were female and 79 (57.6 %) were male. The mean age was 64.3 ±1.8 and 7subjects (5.1%) didn’t have periodontal disease. Our results indicated that 18.9% had mild periodontitis, 44.5% had moderate periodontitis and 31.41% had sever periodontitis. Low education, smoking and not brushing, aging over 66 y and were significant factors in subjects with periodontal disease.(p<0.001)

  Conclusion: High prevalence of periodontal disease in the elderly population of nursing homes located in Tehran indicates the necessity for treatment measures. It should be a priority for the Behzisty Organization to not only create treatment facilities but to provide for such imperative measures as well.