DENTAL PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES IN GERIATRIC DENTISTRY : A call for clinical translation.

As the proportion of older adults in the world population increases, there is an increasing need to provide adequate dental care for this very heterogeneous group of individuals. The relationship between oral and systemic health, the impact of medication on oral health, and the influence of accessibility to dental care and other social and environmental factors shape the provision of dental care for older adults more than in children, younger, and middle-aged adults. However, while dental care for older adults is shaped by these factors and is often different from the care for other adults, what matters to older dental patients does not differ from what matters to dental patients in general. The four dimensions of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL)-Oral Function, Orofacial Pain, Orofacial Appearance, and Psychosocial Impact-capture dental patients' suffering from oral disorders. OHRQoL questionnaires can be used to assess this impact and to achieve results that are compatible with adults in general. More than in other age groups, cognitive impairments or dementia limit the usefulness of questionnaires or interviews for oral health impact assessment. In these situations, family members or caregivers can assess the patient's oral health impact, and oral health care providers need to rely more on physical oral health characteristics for clinical decision-making than in other dental patients. While the tools to measure oral health impact change, the targets for dental care stay the same. Prevention and reduction of functional, painful, aesthetical, and broader psychosocial impact related to oral disorders are the central tasks for geriatric dentistry as they are for dentistry in general. The aim of the manuscript is to highlight the importance of patient-reported outcome measures in geriatric dentistry, addressing challenges and opportunities for their application.

A systematic review and gap analysis of frailty and oral health characteristics in older adults: A call for clinical translation.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review updates the evidence for association between oral health characteristics and frailty status, identifying gaps in translational dental research and application of frailty assessment into clinical practice. BACKGROUND: Clinicians have little guidance on stage-appropriate dental treatment for medically complex older adults. Oral health characteristics have been associated with frailty status, determined through validated assessment tools representing a concise measure of health. Translation of frailty assessment into dental practice has not been the focus of previous reviews. METHODS: Utilising the PRISMA framework for systematic reviews, a comprehensive database search identified articles describing the association of interest. Those included were cross-sectional or longitudinal, in English, included participants aged 50 years or older, used validated frailty assessments and measured clinically relevant oral health outcomes. From 835 screened articles, 26 full-text articles were eligible for quality appraisal and synthesis. RESULTS: Frailty prevalence ranged from 8.5% to 66.0%. Most studies utilised the Fried frailty criteria. Qualitative synthesis of 17 cross-sectional and nine longitudinal studies demonstrated significant covariate-adjusted association between frailty status and number of teeth, chewing ability, prosthetic characteristics, dental caries, periodontitis, dental utilisation and oral health-related quality of life factors. Variability in findings reflected study sample diversity based on country of study origin, age at recruitment, sample size, frailty assessment type, use of clinical versus self-reported outcome measures and differences in statistical analysis. CONCLUSION: Despite robust evidence of association with oral health characteristics, frailty assessment has yet to be sufficiently applied to translational dental research and clinical practice.

Health disparities among highly vulnerable populations in the United States: a call to action for medical and oral health care.

Healthcare in the United States (US) is burdened with enormous healthcare disparities associated with a variety of factors including insurance status, income, and race. Highly vulnerable populations, classified as those with complex medical problems and/or social needs, are one of the fastest growing segments within the US. Over a decade ago, the US Surgeon General publically challenged the nation to realize the importance of oral health and its relationship to general health and well-being, yet oral health disparities continue to plague the US healthcare system. Interprofessional education and teamwork has been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes and provide benefits to participating health professionals. We propose the implementation of interprofessional education and teamwork as a solution to meet the increasing oral and systemic healthcare demands of highly vulnerable US populations.