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Background and aim: The oral problems of the older population are largely undertreated because of various barriers, including negative perceptions and ageist stereotypes, among care providers. The aim of this study was to record the perceptions of Greek dental students of treating older patients. Materials and methods: An anonymous written questionnaire including two open‐ended questions about the positive and negative issues when treating older patients was administered to clinical dental students. A content analysis was conducted to identify the main themes. Results: A total of 135 students responded to the questionnaire (response rate 88.23%). Five key themes were identified for the facilitating factors and six for the barriers/challenging factors. The facilitating factors of treating older people were the promotion of the patients' health and quality of life, the good interaction and communication with older patients, the dentist's intrinsic reward treating older people, the positive feedback from the patients and the improvement of professional dental competences when treating complex cases. The barriers included communication and cooperation problems, treatment challenges related to disease and disability, patients' negative beliefs about oral health, barriers to accessing dental care, complex and time‐consuming treatment plans, and communication and cooperation problems with the patients' carers. Conclusion: A range of facilitating and challenging factors influence dental students' perceptions of treating older patients. More research is necessary on the methods that will enhance their geriatric knowledge and skills, help them overcome the challenges they detected and improve their attitudes and behaviours towards treating older patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The World Health Organization considers ageism an important barrier to age‐appropriate care for older adults. A new ageism scale for dental students (ASDS) has been validated in the United States, Brazil, Greece and Romania. The aim of this study was to validate a French version (ASDS‐Fr). Method and materials: The 27‐item ageism scale was translated from English into French, and its content validity was investigated using the content validity index. The translated version was completed by 180 dental students in the Dental School of Clermont‐Ferrand in France. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed and internal consistency reliability was calculated. Results: The final PCA model resulted in 10 items and three components that together accounted for 57.2% of the overall variance. The first component contained four items that point to a negative view of older adults; the second contained three items that appeared to reflect an absolving of responsibility for providing care to older adults; and the third contained three items that deal with gerodontology education. Conclusions: This preliminary validation of the ASDS‐Fr produced a new 10‐item scale with three components with acceptable validity and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the sociomedical and oral factors affecting masticatory performance in a community-dwelling older population. Materials and methods: Community-dwelling persons over 60 years were investigated using medical and dental oral interviews, oral and denture examination (natural teeth, tooth mobility, number of occluding tooth pairs, and removable dentures' prevalence and quality), and evaluation of masticatory performance using a mixing ability test. Results: A total of 130 participants with a mean age of 73.9±8.5 years were recorded. Fifty-eight (44.6%) used various types of removable prostheses. Twenty were edentulous and used a pair of complete dentures. Univariate analyses revealed statistically significant associations (p≤0.05) between masticatory performance and aging, marital status, subjective chewing ability, use of removable dentures, use of various combinations of complete dentures, pain caused by maxillary denture, number of teeth, tooth mobility, posterior chewing pairs, all chewing contacts natural or prosthetic, retention of mandibular partial dentures, and dentures' occlusion. The multivariable quantile regression analysis revealed that fewer natural teeth (95% CI: −0.02–0.01, p<0.001), being edentulous and using a pair of complete dentures (95% CI: 0.09–0.35, p=0.001), and larger percentage of severely mobile teeth (95% CI: 0.07–0.82, p=0.020) were associated with lower masticatory performance. Conclusions: Poor masticatory performance in older adults was associated with fewer teeth, being edentulous and using a pair of complete dentures, and increased prevalence of severe tooth mobility. Clinical relevance: Retaining the natural dentition and preventing and treating periodontal disease are important measures to maintain masticatory performance in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to obtain a consensus on oral health policy, access to dental care, oral hygiene measures and training levels.Background: Poor oral health is widespread in care-dependent older people, but no consensus for a minimum standard of oral health care exists yet.Methods: The e-Delphi approach was applied to a selected panel of interdisciplinary experts. Data analysis was based on three measurements: (a) ≥70% of experts' opinion fall into category "agree or strongly agree," (b) median score on the 5-point Likert scale ≥4, (c) interquartile range ≤1.Results: A total of 31 experts from 17 European countries participated in this survey. Agreement was achieved for a compulsory dental examination when an elder is admitted to a long-term care (LTC) facility. Older people should brush their teeth twice/day and regularly clean interproximal spaces and oral mucosa. Dentures should be rinsed after meals and cleaned twice/day. The use of denture cleansing tablets was considered necessary. Dentures should be removed before sleeping and stored dry. A 5000 ppm fluoride toothpaste should be applied daily in elder with high caries risk. A short report on the oral health status of the elder should be included in the geriatric assessment. All experts concluded that the knowledge and the training in oral health care for caregivers and family members of care-dependent older people were imperative.Conclusions: Using the e-Delphi method, multidisciplinary healthcare professionals from different countries agreed on certain cardinal recommendations for a standard oral health care for care-dependent older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this paper was to validate the Romanian version of an ageism scale for dental students. Materials and Methods: The initial 27‐item ageism scale was translated into Romanian and administered to 210 dental students in Craiova. The data were analysed using principal components analysis (PCA) with an orthogonal, Varimax rotation. The answers were then compared across several demographic variables using a combination of independent samples t tests and one‐way between‐subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Adequate factorability was confirmed with a Kaiser‐Meyer‐Olkin (KMO) of 0.676 and a Bartlett's Test of Sphericity yielding P < 0.001. PCA revealed a 10‐item scale distributed into three components that accounted for 58% of the overall variance. The first component contained 4 items related to the cost‐benefit of providing care to older patients (α = 0.80). The second contained 3 items that revolved around the perceptions about older people and their value in the society (α = 0.59). The third contained 3 items related to gerodontology training (α = 0.46). Discriminant validity showed differences in the first component based on whether a student had an older family member. Conclusions: The 10‐item, three components scale demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe the validation of a new 27-item ageism scale for dental students in Greece.Background: A new ageism scale for dental students has been developed by American and European Gerodontology educators and was preliminary validated in the United States.Methods: The scale was translated into Greek and administered to 8th- and 10th-semester dental students in Athens. Principal components analysis was used to explore the internal structure of the measure; internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach's α coefficient; corrected item-total correlations were calculated to decide which low contributing items should be removed from the scale; and discriminant validity was tested investigating variation in relation to demographic and educational factors.Results: A total of 152 students responded to the questionnaire. The Principal component analysis offered a 15-item scale distributed into four factors that accounted for 56.4%, of the total variance, produced stronger factor loadings, a comparable amount of overall component variance and logical sets of components. The four factors produced were values/ethics about older people (four items, α = 0.71), patient compliance (four items, α = 0.72), barriers to dental care (four items, α = 0.57) and dentist-older patient interaction (three items, α = 0.64). Discriminant validity revealed statistically significant differences in factors and items related to semester of studies, gender and family's permanent residence.Conclusion: The preliminary validation of the Greek version of the ageing scale for dental students revealed a 15-item questionnaire that demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability and could be further tested in larger samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

doi: 10.1111/j.1741-2358.2010.00445.x Is Europe prepared to meet the oral health needs of older people? Objective: To discuss the preparedness of the social and health care systems and the health workforce in Europe to manage the increasing general and oral health care needs of older adults. Background and discussion: There are large inequalities across European countries and regions in the demographic, socioeconomic and health status of the elderly. The ageing of the population and the economic crisis put at risk the existing social and health care systems and are expected to further widen the existing inequalities. Despite the increase in funding for the general health care, public funding for dental care has reduced, limiting the access for the disadvantaged elderly. Dental care is isolated from health care policies and funding. At the same time there is a significant shortage of adequately trained personnel in the care of the elderly and a shortage of training opportunities particularly at a postgraduate and continuing education level. Conclusion: Immediate action is needed and appropriate strategies need to be implemented. Oral health prevention, delivery policies and funding should be integrated within the general health care system. Clinical protocols and guidelines need to be developed on the oral care of the elderly. Interdisciplinary training in the care of the elderly needs to be implemented for all health care workers (dentists, physicians, nurses, health care aids, social workers) at all education levels to enhance comprehensive care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]