Focus on the Different Projects of Telemedicine Centered on the Elderly In France.

Telemedicine is now in vogue, allowing computer and communication tools to be deployed in different fields of health, such as Cardiology, Dermatology, areas in which it has received interest, and in international studies. As the population ages, older people are increasingly concerned about this innovative practice. This is a narrative review of both the literature and Internet pertaining to telemedicine projects within the field of geriatric subjects in France. Since the beginning of the 2000's, several telemedicine projects and trials focused on chronic heart failure have been developed in the elderly, and also in the field of dermatology. The potential contribution of second-generation telemedicine projects in terms of mortality, morbidity, and the number of hospitalizations avoided is currently under study. Their impact in terms of health economics is likewise being investigated, taking into account that the economic and social benefits brought up by telemedicine solutions were previously validated by the original telemedicine projects. We take a look at telemedicine projects in France concerning the elderly.

[Use of information technology to support the oral care of older people living at home]. / Gebruik van informatietechnologie ter ondersteuning van de mondzorg van thuiswonende ouderen.

The use of eHealth has increased rapidly in recent years and is also being deployed in several ways in care for older people. Little is still known, however, about the use and acceptance of oral care related applications of eHealth by older people. By means of interviews, qualitative research was carried out on the use of digital devices and the needs of older people living at home for oral care related information and instruction via eHealth. Results indicate that older people are technically capable of receiving and making use of this information via eHealth. Slightly more than half of those questioned were interested in receiving this information via an eHealth app. It was considered to be useful when reduced mobility hindered visits to the dentist. Furthermore, those questioned expressed the opinion that the healthcare they are familiar with and the personal contacts should not be replaced by unfamiliar digital alternatives.

[Dental visits among people over 65; a study in a general dental clinic in Drenthe, the Netherlands]. / Tandartsbezoek van 65-plussers; onderzoek uit een algemene praktijk in Drenthe.

In this study, factors that may influence the dental visiting patterns of people over 65 living independently were investigated. The results of a questionnaire (n = 164; 53% response) revealed that 89% of them regularly visited the dentist for a check-up. Factors affecting dental visits were: whether or not one had difficulty planning a visit, whether or not one was motivated to make an appointment and actually made one, the condition of one's teeth; whether or not one had dental insurance and whether or not one reacted to a dental reminder (post)card. Mobility played no greater role among non-regular dental visitors than among regular visitors. Anticipating the possibility of an older patient living independently might fail to show by means of an active call policy seems more relevant than organising transport.

Emerging Models of Dental Practice Aim at Addressing Needs of the Aged.

Currently, about 46 million seniors, citizens over the age of 65, live in the United States. That number is expected to roughly double to more than 98 million by 2060, an increase from the current 15% of the population to 24%. Seniors are living longer and, due to advances in dental care and access to fluoridated water, keeping more of their teeth. As a result, many will be seeking to access services through a dental care delivery system that is already struggling to meet existing need. This article will describe emerging oral health workforce models, as well as interprofessional team approaches, that may help improve access to the growing population of senior citizens. The article will include discussions on dental therapists, dental hygienists, physicians, nurses, and physician assistants.

Oral health-related quality of life in the elderly population receiving health care at the Public Hospital Network in Medellin, Colombia, and its related factors

Metrosalud is the largest public hospital network in the city of Medellin and one of the most important in Colombia providing health care to the most vulnerable population. The objective of the study was to determine the Oral HealthRelated Quality of Life (OHRQoL) and its related factors in the elderly population receiving health care at the public hospital network in Medellin (Colombia). A crosssectional design was used. Men and women ≥ 65 years old were considered for this research, selected from first consultation records by the institution’s statistical unit for 2011, who accepted to participate after being contacted by telephone...

Metrosalud es la Empresa Social del Estado (E.S.E.) y red hospitalaria pública más grande de la ciudad de Medellín y una de las más importantes del país en materia de atención en salud a la población más vulnerable. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la calidad de vida relacionada con salud bucal (CVRSB) en la población adulta mayor atendida en la red hospitalaria pública de Medellín (Colombia) y sus factores relacionados. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo trasversal. La muestra fue constituida por población adulta mayor de la ESE Metrosalud. Hombres y mujeres mayores de 65 años fueron considerados para esta investigación y fueron seleccionados de los registros de consulta de la unidad de estadística de la institución (año 2011) e invitados a participar a través de contacto telefónico.

Geriatric Dentistry in the 21st Century: Environment and Opportunity.

The aging of the baby boomers in the 21st century is creating unprecedented numbers of vulnerable older adults. The increase in people keeping their teeth and their increasingly complex conditions all point to more people with more complex needs. Although these demographic shifts are providing unparalleled challenges for our health care system, they also bring new opportunities to develop and implement innovative systems for reaching and maintaining the oral health of older Americans.

[The attitude of elderly people living in Samara to organizational forms in gerontostomatology (based on materials of medical and sociological research)].

This article presents the results of medical and sociological research devoted to the study of elderly patients' opinion about different organizational forms providing gerontostomatological assistance. We came to the conclusion that the citizens of the old age groups have different preferences. The introduction of new organizational forms into dentistry for the elderly should be based on the results of sociological research.

Oral health trends in Maryland.

OBJECTIVES: This paper describes the trends in oral health in Maryland over the past decade. METHODS: Data were compiled from several surveillance systems and then summarized to assess the trends in oral health in Maryland over the past ten years. RESULTS: The percentage of Maryland children with dental sealants increased from 33.8 to 42.8 percent; the percentage of children that have had a dental visit increased from 18.9 to 47.5 percent; and the percentage of children that received "dental treatment" increased from 8.4 to 22.4 percent. CONCLUSIONS: Maryland has made considerable progress in improving the oral health care for children covered by Medicaid. The availability of affordable oral health care for new mothers, adults, and elderly persons is a problem that goes beyond the Maryland boundaries. Following national trends, edentulism and deaths due to oral cancer have declined.

Dental service trends for older US adults, 1998-2006.

This study of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) updates trends in utilization of dental services between 1998 and 2006 for community-dwelling U.S. adults of age 65 years and older. Bivariate comparisons were made between dependent variables (annual dental visits and types of dental procedures) and independent variables (age, gender, race, income, education, population density, marital status, U.S. Census Bureau regions, and self-reported health). The estimated percentage of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries with a dental visit for the years studied increased from 45.0% in 1998 to 46.3% in 2006. The age group of respondents who were 85 years and older had the greatest percentage increase in dental visits. Those reporting visits with preventive procedures increased from 87.8% to 91.2% whereas those reporting visits with nonpreventive procedures declined from 63.9% to 58.4%. The prevalence of dental visits continues to trend upward for this population of older adults. Increasing delivery of preventive services will likely impact the future mix of dental services as U.S. adults live longer.

A pilot study: are dental hygienists in Texas ready for the elderly population explosion?

PURPOSE: At the beginning of the 20th century, people 65 and older comprised 4.1% of the population. By the year 2030, it is estimated that people 65 and older, the 'Baby Boomer' generation, will comprise more than 20% of the population. This will have a profound effect on the practice of dentistry and on society as a whole. The purpose of this study was to determine whether dental hygienists in Texas felt prepared and willing to treat the elderly in alternative practice settings such as nursing homes. METHODS: After institutional review board approval, a questionnaire was mailed to 500 hygienists. A 5% systematic sample of dental hygiene graduates was taken from four dental hygiene schools in Texas, United States of America (USA). Of these, 175 were returned for a 35% response rate. Questions asked were degree held, how prepared the participants felt to treat the special needs of the elderly, if participants were willing to work in alternative practice settings such as a nursing home and if they felt additional education was needed. Frequency distributions, correlations and chi square were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Results revealed 86.5% of the respondents felt prepared to somewhat prepared to treat the special needs of the elderly based on education; equally, 86.5% felt more education was needed to better prepare them to treat the elderly. Over half of the respondents would not be willing to work in alternative practice settings such as nursing homes. CONCLUSION: The average respondents do not feel fully prepared to treat the elderly with special needs, and they think more education is needed to better prepare them to treat this important target population.

Uma década da Odontogeriatria brasileira / A decade of Brazilian Geriatric Dentistry

Introdução: O rápido crescimento do contingente de idosos na população brasileira é acompanhado por mudanças epidemiológicas que necessitam de especial atenção por parte dos profissionais da saúde, bem como dos setores da gestão pública. A atual condição de saúde bucal dos idosos brasileiros reflete uma somatória de crenças e valores acerca das necessidades percebidas, vividas e experimentadas por esses indivíduos ao longo de suas existências. A atenção à saúde e a qualidade dos serviços odontológicos prestados no passado também contribuíram para essa realidade. No início deste milênio, a Odontologia atentou para o fato de que a saúde bucal dos idosos requer muito mais do que domínios de técnicas e materiais.Assim, em 2001, a Odontogeriatria foi reconhecida pelo Conselho Federal de Odontologia como uma especialidade,a qual se fundamenta em razões que outrora pareciam ser desconhecidas pela maioria dos cirurgiões-dentistas. Entretanto, a quantidade de profissionais capazes de prestar atendimento odontológico adequado a essa parcela da população ainda parece inadequada. O acesso aos serviços de qualidade apresenta uma série de condicionantes que interferem de maneira direta na saúde das pessoas. Conclusão:Frente ao atual panorama de transição demográfica e epidemiológica, o presente estudo de revisão apresenta as principais características dos idosos brasileiros e a atual condição de saúde bucal desse coletivo.A estrutura em tópicos permite uma série de observações inerentes à Odontologia, aos seus profissionais e à formação e qualificação de recursos humanos em Odontogeriatria.

Introduction: The fast growth of elderly population in Brazil is followed by epidemiological changes thatneed special attention from health professionals, as well as sectors of the Government. The present conditionsof oral health of elderly in Brazil can be reflected in a sum of beliefs and values around perceived necessitiesand experienced by those individuals throughout life. The attention to health and the quality of dental servicesprovided in the past also contributed to this reality. In the beginning of this millennium, Dentistry sciencerealized that the oral health of elderly requires more than mastered techniques and materials. So, in 2001,Geriatric Dentistry was recognized by the Brazilian Federal Council of Dentistry as a specialty, based onreasons that once seemed to be unknown to dental surgeons. However, the number of professionals capableof offering the necessary treatment to this group of people still seems inadequate. The access to high-qualityservices presents a series of conditions that affect directly people´s health. Conclusion: In accordance to thecurrent demographical and epidemiological transition, this review study presents the main characteristics ofBrazilian elderly and their current oral health status. The structure in topics allows a series of inherentobservations to Dentistry, to its professionals and to the training and qualification of human resources inGeriatric Dentistry.

[Dental treatment strategies for elderly patients]. / Strategia de tratament stomatologic la pacientul vârstnic.

UNLABELLED: The elderly are influenced from a various and complex combination of factors, such us individual genetic predispositions, lifestyle, society and environment, the sum of all the individual life experiences concerning the dental care, the caries, the periodontal and iatrogenic diseases. AIM: This paper evaluates the dental treatment in the elderly. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was performed on 112 patients, aged over 65, at the Clinical Department of Dental Semiology und Geriatric Dentistry, Iasi, Romania. RESULTS: The treatment interventions were dental hygiene procedures (in 97 patients), restaurations (in 29 patients), removable partial and total denture preocedures (in 50 patients), fixed prosthetic procedures (in 18 patients), rebasing of dentures (in 25 patients) and teeth extractions (in 26 patients). There were 36 endodontic emergencies and 15 periodontal emergencies and 8 emergencies that resulted from other causes. CONCLUSIONS: The periodical dental examinations and the proper daily oral hygiene routine are still important in the old age and they should not be neglected, because the prosthetical components request also treatment interventions.

[Special care dentistry for dependent elderly and people with disabilities]. / Zahnmedizinische Betreuung von Pflegebedürftigen und Menschen mit Behinderungen.

In 2009, 7.1 million people (8% of the population) were officially recognized as having severe disabilities in the Federal Republic of Germany. At the same time, about 2.34 million Germans were in need of special care with some overlap between these groups. Although structured preventive programs in Germany helped to improve oral health generally (DMS IV 2006), care recipients and people with disabilities did not benefit to the same extent from this development. They often show a higher risk of caries and periodontal diseases due to both a lack of compliance and insufficient personal plaque control. It is desirable that care recipients and persons with disabilities attain the same level of oral health as persons without impairments. All care givers ought to be aware of the dental problems of these groups and should be sufficiently trained to deal with them. Dental care should compensate any deficits to ultimately attain the same standard of oral health. To achieve these goals, ease of access to dental care as well as dental services appropriate to the impairments have to be established.