Oral health-related quality of life of older adults living in long-term care facilities and its association with dental prosthesis use and condition / Qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal de idosos residentes em instituições de longa permanência: associação com o uso e condição da prótese

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the association of oral health-related quality of life with prosthetic rehabilitation status and dental prosthesis condition in residents of Brazilian long-term care facilities. METHODS: The oral health-related quality of life of older adults (n = 194; mean [standard deviation] age = 78.93 [9.10]) was assessed by the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index and the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaires. Prosthetic rehabilitation status was recorded according to the absence of teeth and use of dental prostheses. Dental prosthesis condition was considered good or poor based on stability, retention, occlusion, vertical dimension, and defects. Poisson regression models were plotted to analyze the data (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Lower Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index scores were associated with edentulism with denture use only on one jaw (B = -0.05) and poor dental prosthesis stability (B = -0.04). Similarly, edentulous participants with denture only on one jaw (B = 0.59) and those wearing dental prostheses with poor stability (B = 0.36) are more likely to achieve higher Oral Health Impact Profile scores. Also, lower Oral Health Impact Profile scores were associated with denture defects (B = -0.34). CONCLUSION: In summary, the oral health-related quality of life of older adults living in long-term care facilities is negatively impacted by edentulism with denture only on one jaw and use of dental prostheses with poor stability. Therefore, long-term care facilities should provide oral health training to caregivers, include dental professionals in the staff, and articulate demands with oral health teams in the primary care system. (AU)

OBJETIVO: Este estudo transversal objetivou avaliar a associação da qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal com o status de reabilitação protética e a condição da prótese em residentes de instituições de longa permanência no Brasil. METODOLOGIA: A qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal dos idosos (n = 194; média [desvio padrão] idade = 78,93 [9,10]) foi avaliada pelos questionários Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index e Oral Health Impact Profile. O status de reabilitação protética foi registrado de acordo com a ausência de dentes e uso de próteses dentárias. A condição da prótese foi considerada boa ou ruim com base na estabilidade, retenção, oclusão, dimensão vertical e defeitos. Modelos de regressão de Poisson foram plotados para analisar os dados (α = 0,05). RESULTADOS: Como resultado, menores escores no Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index foram associados ao edentulismo com o uso de dentadura em apenas uma arcada (B = -0,05) e ao uso de próteses com estabilidade ruim (B = -0,04). De forma similar, participantes edêntulos que usavam dentadura em apenas uma arcada (B = 0,59) e aqueles que portavam prótese com estabilidade ruim (B = 0,36) são mais propensos a ter maiores escores no Oral Health Impact Profile. Além disso, menores escores no Oral Health Impact Profile foram associados a defeitos na prótese (B = -0,34). CONCLUSÃO: Sumarizando, a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal de idosos residentes em instituições de longa permanência é negativamente impactada pelo edentulismo com o uso de dentadura em apenas uma arcada e uso de prótese com estabilidade ruim. Assim, instituições de longa permanência devem promover capacitação em saúde bucal aos cuidadores, incluir dentistas no quadro de funcionários e articular com as equipes de saúde bucal da Atenção Primária à Saúde. (AU)

Effect of frozen storage on preservation of a silicone-based test food material

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of frozen storage on the physical properties of a silicone-based test food material, highly used to evaluate the masticatory performance in research settings. Methods: A total of 1,666 silicone cubes of Optosil Comfort® with 5.6-mm edges were shaped and stored at -18°C. The cubes were subsequently tested for flexural strength (maximum force, displacement, stress, and strain) before breaking (n = 136), changes in weight and size (n = 170), and masticatory performance (n = 1360) at eight timepoints: immediately after cube preparation (baseline, no freezing), and 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks, and 2, 4 and 6 months after frozen storage. The cubes were thawed 8 h before each assessment. Results: The maximum force, stress, maximum displacement, and deformation values for the cubes were not affected by freezing (P > 0.05). At all of the time points, the cubes exhibited similar weight (P = 0.366) and size (identical values). The masticatory performance for the cubes also showed no differences from baseline through 6 months (P = 0.061). Conclusion: Freezing Optosil Comfort® silicone cubes did not alter the physical and mechanical properties of the material, being suitable to optimize the assessment of masticatory parameters for research purposes

Academic perspectives and psychosocial aspects of final-year dental students during COVID-19 pandemic

Aim: This cross-sectional observational study aimed to evaluate the influence of the Universities lockdown measures on academic perspectives and psychosocial aspects of Brazilian finalyear dental students. Methods: 268 undergraduate students regularly enrolled in a Dentistry course at public universities were asked about anxiety, depression, stress sensitivity, and their academic perspectives by using an online survey. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure anxiety and depression, while the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) evaluated stress levels. The academic perspective was evaluated by five affirmatives regarding possible difficulties that will be faced when school reopens and after graduation. The possible association between fear of having COVID-19 with psychosocial outcomes and COVID-19 association with academic perspectives were analyzed by ANOVA and chisquare tests, respectively, considering a significance level of 5%. Results: Considering possible associations between the fear of having COVID-19 and psychosocial aspects, significant values were found for anxiety (P = 0.018) and stress sensitivity (P = 0.002). Regarding students' academic perspectives, COVID-19 had significant impact on less opportunity to perform procedures (P = 0.023), additional expenses with personal protective equipment (P = 0.007), and concerns of consulting elderly people (P = 0.012). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased psychological impairments and enlarged concerns with learning and biosecurity, which might impact academic perspectives. Thus, being aware of these apprehensions, university professors and staff can improve the clinical training of final-year dental students in an empathetic way

Factors associated with oral health-related quality of life of institutionalized elders

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between two Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) questionnaires (the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI)) and to investigate the factors associated with the OHRQoL of institutionalized elderly individuals. A cross-sectional multicenter study was performed with 344 institutionalized elderly individuals residing in two Brazilian cities. Six trained researchers interviewed the elderly individuals. Sociodemographic data were collected from medical records. Dental caries experience and the use of and need for dentures were recorded through oral examination performed by two trained examiners. A Likert scale (1-5 points) was used to assess general health and self-perceived oral health. The number of chewing cycles needed to chew a portion of peanuts was used to assess the swallowing threshold. The OHIP-14 and GOHAI were used to evaluate OHRQoL, and statistically significant correlations were assessed using Spearman's correlation test (p < 0.05). Poisson regression (p < 0.05) was used to investigate the association of OHRQoL with independent variables. Scores on the OHIP-14 (7.57 ± 8.63) and GOHAI (32.46 ± 3.85) were strongly and inversely correlated (r2 = -0.671, p < 0.001), although these measures were associated with different factors. A higher OHIP-14 total score (worse OHRQoL) was associated with female gender, a greater number of healthy teeth, worse self-perceived general health and oral health, and a lower swallowing threshold (p < 0.05). A higher GOHAI total score (better OHRQoL) was associated with a greater number of filled teeth, better self-perceived oral health and a greater swallowing threshold (p < 0.05). In conclusion, worse OHRQoL among institutionalized elderly individuals is associated with worse self-perceived oral health and a greater swallowing threshold.

Mandibular single-implant overdenture as an alternative for full arch rehabilitations: a literature review

Oral rehabilitation with mandibular single-implant overdentures (SIO) has been characterized as a solution to improve retention and stability of conventional complete dentures (CD). Among the benefits of this therapy, it can be mentioned minimally invasive surgery, simple prosthetic technique, better retention, and significantly reduced costs. However, the application of this protocol in daily clinic is still not widespread. Aim: Thus, this study aimed to perform a literature review to address the clinical characteristics of this rehabilitation, when compared to two-implant mandibular overdentures and CD. Methods: For this, a search was conducted in the PubMed database, considering articles published in English language, without date limitation. Results: It was found 243 manuscripts, of which 20 were compatible with the aim of this study after title/abstract reading. The selected papers focused on masticatory muscles function, satisfaction levels and self-reported quality of life, as well as surgical and prosthetic outcomes, such as maintenance, repair and implant failure rates. All evaluated manuscripts showed similar masticatory function and patient's satisfaction with SIO and two-implant overdenture, while results for a SIO were greater when compared to rehabilitations with CD. In addition, SIO have proven to do not damage the implant, being implant loss close to zero. However, the prosthesis fracture adjacent to the implant was a recurrent clinical outcome, which requires further studies to solve this impairment. Conclusion: Thus, it can be concluded that SIO represents an alternative treatment for frail elders or low-income patients, leading to higher masticatory function, as well as improved quality of life