Self-perceived Oral Health of the Elderly in a Rural Area, Japan

Good oral health is considered essential in maintaining of individual\u27s good overall health. Information on oral problems and the behavior in visiting dentist is important for promoting oral health of the elderly. To elucidate the oral health status of the elderly in rural areas and factors affecting their oral health, we studied 147 people aged 60 years or over in a rural area of Nagasaki prefecture, Japan. We examined the dental status (dentate or edentate) and denture adaptability, and collected the information on socio-demographic variables, habits, chewing ability, visit to dentist for oral problems, self-perceived general health, and self-perceived oral health. About one-third of the subjects (47/147) had poor self-perceived oral health. Most socio-demographic variables were not associated with poor self-perceived oral health. Logistic regression analysis showed that poor chewing ability (odds ratio (OR): 3.4; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4-8.7), being dentate (OR: 6.6, 95% CI: 2.2-24.0), inadequate denture adaptability (OR: 3.7; 95% CI: 1.7-8.8), and no visit to dentist for oral problems (OR: 4.8; 95% CI: 1.8-14.2) were significantly associated with poor self-perceived oral health. In rural areas in Japan, adequate dental care and its good accessibility would be important for promoting the oral health in the elderly