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Background People with poor OHL have the highest level of oral diseases and the worst oral treatment results. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the degree of knowledge of the role of the dental hygienist in patients who go to a public dental facility for the first time. Material and Methods A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the patients with the “face-to-face” mode during a 12-month period. The principal component analysis, the general linear model and the chi-square test were used for the statistical analysis. Results A total number of 900 questionnaires were completed. Sixty-seven per cent of patients know that a specific degree is needed to practice dentistry and 93.1% of them know that a specific educational qualification is required to practice the dental hygienist profession. Sixty-three per cent of the subjects were aware of dental hygienist’s activities. There is no patient preference of gender as far as both dentist (84.11%) and dental hygienist (85.11%) are concerned. Seventy-five per cent of patients claimed to know what “dental hygiene” means and 65% of them believed that a good level of oral hygiene was important for oral disease prevention. Both qualification and marital status of patients are significantly associated with the patient’s level of knowledge of the dental hygienist profession. Patients with “High” scholastic qualifications showed significantly higher scores than those with “Low” qualifications. Married patients have less knowledge than widows/widowers, while divorced patients have greater knowledge than widows/widowers. Conclusions Patients’ educational qualification itself only partially justifies the apparent high level of knowledge of patients about the dental hygienist’s role. Key words:Oral disease prevention, dental professional qualification, public dental knowledge, patient educational qualification, dental hygienist, oral heath literacy, public dental facility.

ResumoO envelhecimento é uma etapa da vida que se acompanha de numerosas transformações fisiopatológicas. As doenças orais não apresentando, de um modo geral, risco de vida podem ter repercussões ao nível da mastigação, da fonética, da estética e do bem-estar geral.ObjetivosCaracterizar a auto-perceção e comportamentos em saúde oral dos idosos institucionalizados, da região do Porto, e avaliar a sua associação com variáveis sociodemográficas.MétodosEstudo transversal baseado numa amostra de conveniência que incluiu indivíduos com idade superior a 65 anos de idade, institucionalizados em 5 lares e 2 centros de dia do distrito do Porto.ResultadosA amostra foi constituída por 129 indivíduos, com idades compreendidas entre 65 e 98 anos, sendo 77,5%, do sexo feminino. Relativamente à escolaridade, 34,9% não possuía qualquer grau e 51,9% possuía 1 a 4 anos de escolaridade. Cerca de 42% dos participantes afirmou necessitar de tratamento dentário. Relativamente à autoperceção da saúde oral, 17,1% dos participantes classificaram como má, 45% classificou como razoável e 38% referiu ser boa. Quanto aos hábitos de higiene oral, 46,5% referiu escovar os dentes menos de 2 vezes por dia. A necessidade de reabilitação protética foi reconhecida por 33,3% dos participantes. Relativamente aos cuidados médico- dentários, 55,8% referiu não consultar o médico dentista há mais de 3 anos. Foi verificada associação estatisticamente significativa entre a menor frequência de escovagem, menor frequência de visitas ao médico dentista e a baixa escolaridade.ConclusãoNeste estudo foi percetível a falta de informação sobre os determinantes de saúde oral, nomeadamente em relação com a higiene oral.AbstractAging is a life stage that is accompanied by numerous pathophysiologic changes affecting oral and general health. Oral diseases don’t show, in general, risk of life but can impact the level of mastication, phonetics, aesthetics and general welfare.ObjectivesCharacterize the self-perception and behaviors in oral health of institutionalized elderly of Porto region and assess its association with sociodemographic variables.MethodsCross-sectional study based on a convenience sample that included individuals aged over 65 years institutionalized in nursing homes and day centers of the district of Porto.ResultsThe sample consisted of 129 individuals, aged 65 to 98 years, most were female (77.5%), reported having between 1-4 years of schooling and 34.9% reported never attended school. 41.9% of respondents claimed the need of dental treatment and of these, 61.1% had consulted a dentist for more than one year. The self-perception of oral health was rated as “poor” by 17%, 45% as fair and 38% as “good”. Regarding oral hygiene habits, 46.5% reported brushing their teeth less than 2 times a day and only 18.6% use additional means of daily hygiene. Regarding dental care visits, 55.8% reported a dental consultation for more than three years. A significant association between lower frequency of brushing and low education was observed. The lower frequency of visits to the dentist was associated with low educational level of participants.ConclusionThere was a noticeable lack of information about oral health determinants, mainly in relation to oral hygiene among this elderly population.

Background The population of older people, as well as the number of dependent older people, is steadily increasing; those unable tolive independently at home are being cared for in a range ofsettings. Practical training for nurses and auxiliary care staff has frequently been recommended as a way of improving oralhealth care for functionally dependent elderly. The aim was improve oral hygiene in institutionalized elderly in Bangalorecity by educating their caregivers. Methods The study is a cluster randomized intervention trial with an elderly home as unit of randomization in which 7 out of 65 elderly homes were selected. Oral health knowledge of caregivers was assessed using a pre-tested pro forma and later oral-health education was provided to the caregivers ofthe study group. Oral hygiene status of elderly residents was assessed by levels of debris, plaque of dentate and denture plaque, and denture stomatitis of denture wearing residents,respectively. Oral-health education to the caregivers of control group was given at the end of six months Results There was significant improvement in oral-health knowledge of caregivers from the baseline and also a significant reduction of plaque score from baseline score of 3.17 ± 0.40 to 1.57 ± 0.35 post-intervention (p < .001), debris score2.87 ± 0.22 to 1.49 ± 0.34 (p < .001), denture plaque score 3.15 ± 0.47 to 1.21 ± 0.27 (p < .001), and denture stomatitis score 1.43 ± 0.68 to 0.29 ± 0.53 (p < .001). Conclusions The result of the present study showed that there was a significant improvement in the oral-health knowledge among the caregivers and oral-hygiene status of the elderly residents.