CORRELATION OF ORAL HEALTH STATUS WITH GENERAL HEALTH IN ELDERLY LIVING AT RESIDENTIAL HOMES IN GEORGIA.

The aim of the study was to assess oral health status and its correlations with the general health in older adults living in residential houses in Georgia. The study was conducted in 2017-2018 years based on WHO recommendations. The study got approval from bioethical council of National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, protocol #2017-039, 28.06.2017y. 300 voluntary residents from various residential houses for older people (aged 65 years and more) were observed in regions of Georgia: "Basiliada" (Tbilisi), residential home of municipality of Samtredia, (Imereti), residential home "Carefree old age" (Kakheti). Age groups were divided as following: 65-74; 75-84; 85<. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 was used for statistical analysis. DMFT was assessed to be 28.74. Significantly high prevalence of needs of prosthetic treatment 91.1% (p=0.0005), full edentulism 36.2% (p=0.0049), participants with the extraction of more than 20 teeth 81.3% (p=0.0000) and unsatisfactory oral hygiene 39.3% (p=0.0003) were observed. Prevalence of systemic diseases was assessed as the following: cardiovascular disease - 56%, gastroenterologycal diseases - 6%, diabetes - 2.9%, respiratory disease - 8.4%, oncological disease - 6.7%, dementia - 24.2 %.( p<0.005). Cardiovascular system diseases appeared to be one of the most commonly encountered diseases in dental practice. Based on the study results new program was created "Improve of oral hygiene of older adults living in residential homes in Georgia" in order to increase their access to the dental care, including preventive dental care and improve oral health related quality of life.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENERAL HEALTH, ORAL HEALTH AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE IN ELDERLY POPULATION (REVIEW).

This literature review aims to investigate how a poor oral health impacts on general health and healthy lifestyle of elderly people. The literature review was performed using ScienceDirect, Scopus and PubMed databases to identify relevant published studies. The year of publication was limited to over the past 5 years and the language was limited to English. Having considered the relevant articles' abstracts the 36 articles were selected. Systematical literature revision shows that recently, the older population has increased worldwide and it is being predicted to keep growing in near future. As age-related changes are observed in oral cavity, geriatric dentistry becomes more relevant to investigate oral disorders and to take relevant measures in elderly population. There is an urgent need to clarify the correlations between oral and general health. Unsatisfactory oral conditions lead to serious systemic diseases. Based on the currently available evidence, better collaboration between medical and dental fields is required in order to create and maintain healthy elderly population. A special association with professional group is important for implementation of new programs, in order to enhance and maintain satisfactory oral hygiene, oral health and oral health related quality of life.

Dental caries among children in Georgia by age, gender, residence location and ethnic group.

OBJECTIVE: To provide prevalence data for dental caries in Georgia. METHODS: This World Health Organization pathfinder survey was conducted among 1,351 (6, 12 and 15 year-old) Georgian children, representing the main ethnic groups in urban and rural locations. Caries was analysed at univariate and multivariate levels, according to age, gender, urban/rural locality and ethnic group. RESULTS: Caries experience levels among 6-year-olds were dmft = 4.57, sd 3.42 (14.8% caries-free); DMFT = 2.04 (sd 2.02) among 12-year-olds (31.1% caries-free); and DMFT = 3.51 (sd 3.14) for the 15-year-olds (17.7% caries-free). Urban children at ages 6 and 12 years were more likely to be caries-free and have both lower levels of caries-experience and higher levels of filled or restored teeth. In multivariate regression analyses, most age groups showed a significant contribution from residence location. No differences were found by age and no consistent differences were detected by ethnic group. CONCLUSION: These data should provide the baseline for formulating and conducting public oral health efforts in Georgia, with emphases on rural residence locations.

Salivary detection of H1N1 virus: a clinical feasibility investigation.

The fast and efficient transportation among continents will continue to play a role in the spread of airborne pandemics. The objective of this study was to detect H1N1 virus in the saliva of individuals who visited the emergency department and were diagnosed as having H1N1 influenza. Nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva samples from those who presented to the emergency department with flu-like symptoms were sent to the laboratory. RNA was extracted from both samples. Real-time RT-PCR tests were performed, and the saliva and nasopharyngeal swab tests were compared. Samples were drawn from 26 individuals. A positive nasopharyngeal swab test and salivary test was found in 14 persons, and negative tests were found in 12 persons. Saliva sampling for H1N1 has excellent predictive value, is highly accurate and reliable, and is more convenient than the nasopharyngeal swab. Clinical trial with the Helsinki Committee at Rambam Health Care Campus, registration number 036309-RMB.