Sedative load, carious teeth and infection in the periodontium among community-dwelling older people

Abstract Objective: To study the relation of sedative load to carious teeth and periodontal pocketing — indication of infectious periodontal disease — among older people. Materials and methods: This cross‐sectional study was based on a subpopulation of 158 community‐dwelling, dentate, non‐smoking, 75‐year‐old or older people from the Oral Health Geriatric Multidisciplinary Strategy study. The data were collected by interviews and clinical oral examinations during 2004–2005. Sedative load was measured by means of the sedative load model, and Poisson multivariate regression models were used to estimate relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Participants with a sedative load of either 1–2 (n = 31) or ≥3 (n = 12) had an increased likelihood of having carious teeth (RR: 1.8, CI: 1.2–2.6 and RR: 2.4, CI: 1.4–4.1, respectively) compared to participants without a sedative load. There was an inverse association between sedative load and the number of teeth with periodontal pockets. Conclusions: Presence of dental caries was associated with the use of drugs with sedative properties. The use of drugs with sedative properties was not associated with the presence of periodontal pockets