|
KMID : 0355220130380010019
|
|
Journal of Korean Academy Oral Medicine
2013 Volume.38 No. 1 p.19 ~ p.28
|
|
|
Clinical Epidemiology for Elderly Patients of Oral Medicine Clinic
|
|
Oh Hyun-Sun
Kim Hye-Kyung
Park Jo-Eun
Kim Ki-Suk
Kim Mee-Eun
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
With Korea’s rapid entry to aged society, elderly population has become a major age group both in the whole society and medical field and its importance will be constantly stressed out. Elderly population is also important in the field of oral medicine which deals with chronic and recurrent diseases in the orofacial region of non-dental origin but there exist few studies indicating epidemiology of elderly patients in this regards. This study aimed to investigate change of age distribution of new patients in a university-based dental hospital and oral medicine clinic for last decade and to investigate clinical epidemiology of elderly patients (≥ 65 years) of oral medicine clinic. This study was performed retrospectively using medical records of the new patients in Dankook University Dental Hospital in 2001 and 2011. According to the study, percentage of elderly new patients increased in both dental hospital and oral medicine clinic and degree of the increase was greater in oral medicine clinic than in the whole hospital (p=0.000). 13.5% of adult patients ≥ 18 years of oral medicine clinic were elderly patients ≥ 65 years. 83% of elderly patients were suffering from one or more systemic diseases. Although TMD was the most common reason for elderly patients who visited oral medicine clinic, oral soft tissue diseases, dry mouth, burning mouth syndrome and oromandibular dystonia was more frequently diagnosed in elderly patients compared to adult patients aged 18 to 64 years. Pain severity and interference of Brief Pain Inventory and depression and anxiety scores of Hospital Anxiety Depression Scales were higher in elderly patients than in the adult patients (p<0.05). Increase of elderly patients with chronic oral diseases and pain needs more attention of dentists and specialists of oral medicine to improvement of assessment and development of tailored management because large portion of the elderly patients have systemic diseases, polypharmacy and impaired communication, possibly restricting treatment options.
|
|
|
KEYWORD
|
|
|
oral medicine, dental, elderly patients, pain
|
|
|
FullTexts / Linksout information
|
|
 
|
|
|
Listed journal information
|
|
|