Abstract
For various reasons, the care demand from elderly people is low and difficult to determine, whereas their oral hygiene status would need urgent care.
To assess the oral hygiene status of institutionalized dependent elderly in Bangalore City, India.
A cross-sectional study of 322 dependent elderly patients was conducted at seven elderly homes of Bangalore City, India. The oral hygiene status recorded includes dental and prosthetic hygiene.
The mean Debris Index and Plaque Index scores of dentate elderly were 2.87±0.22 and 3.17±0.40, respectively, the mean Denture Plaque and Denture Stomatitis scores were 3.15±0.47 and 1.43±0.68, respectively.
The dental hygiene was inadequate. This study emphasizes the care demand and the need for help in oral hygiene procedures for the dependent institutionalized elderly.