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The European College of Gerodontology (ECG) and the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS) Task & Force group on Gerodontology has developed an expert opinion paper on Geriatric Oral Health Policy Recommendations, with particular focus on frail and care dependent older people. Oral health in older adults is often largely neglected. Common oral diseases, such as caries, periodontal disease, denturerelated conditions, hyposalivation, oral precancerous conditions and cancer may lead to tooth loss, pain, local and systemic infection, impaired oral function as well as negative impact on quality of life, increased morbidity and mortality. Although the majority of oral diseases are preventable and treatable, oral problems in older adults remain largely underdiagnosed, as frail patients often refrain from routine dental care, due to a number of barriers and misconceptions. These hindrances include person-related issues, lack of professional support and/or lack of effective oral health policies. Three major areas for further action are identified: a) educational action plans for health care providers, b) health policy action plans, and c) citizens’ empowerment and involvement. A list of defined competences in geriatric oral health assessment and promotion for non-dental health care providers is suggested, as well as an oral health promotion and disease prevention protocol for care dependent older users of secondary and tertiary health care facilities. Oral health assessment should be incorporated into general health assessment with emphasis on prevention and oral care should be integrated into public health care coverage.

Objectives: A study was conducted of nursing home residents with limited access to regular oral health care services to evaluate their oral health status, to perform an assessment of the need for oral treatment and to determine the possible predicting value of age, gender, care dependency and income level on their oral health status and treatment needs. Materials and methods: Three experienced dentists collected clinical oral health data with a mobile dental unit in 23 nursing homes. Socio-demographic data were extracted from the residents’ records in the nursing home. Besides the descriptive and bivariate analysis, a general linear mixed model analysis was also performed with the nursing home as random effect. Results: The study sample consisted of 1,226 residents with a mean age of 83.9 years, of which 41.9% were edentulous. The mean D 3MFt in the dentate group was 24.5 and 77% needed extractions or fillings. In the group of residents wearing removable dentures, 36.9% needed repair, rebasing or renewal of the denture. The mixed model analysis demonstrated that with each year a resident gets older, the oral health outcomes get worse and that men have worse oral health and higher treatment needs than women. However, the level of income and care dependency had a less extensive role in predicting the oral health outcomes. Conclusions: The nursing home residents presented a poor overall oral health status and high dental and prosthetic treatment needs. Gender and age were important predicting variables for the oral health outcomes.

Over the last two decades, progress in prevention and treatment of caries and periodontal diseases has been translated to better oral health and improved tooth retention in the adult population. The ageing population and the increasing expectations of good oral health-related quality of life in older age pose formidable challenges to clinical care and healthcare systems.

Questionnaire for Gerodontology education in Europe: the pdf format of the electronic questionnaire used in the present study. (PDF 392Â kb)

In 2012–2014 a national Oral Health Data Registration and Examination Survey took place in Belgium. This included oral examination of a sample representative of the population aged 5 years and older and a self-administered questionnaire (dietary and oral health habits), collected by a dentist during a home visit. Caries experience was recorded according to WHO criteria and expressed using D3MFT. [...]

Objective. Information regarding health condition, related behavior and utilization of health care services is essential for planning and organization of care delivery. Until recently, only limited information regarding oral health related issues was available in Belgium. This paper illustrates the development and implementation of an Oral Health Data Registration & Evaluation System (OHDRES) in Belgium, including discussion of challenges encountered. Methods. After development of a conceptual plan and pilot phase, the OHDRES was implemented nationwide in 2009-2010. The combined Health Interview (self-administered questionnaire) and Health Examination (standardized oral examination by trained dentist-interviewer at the participant's home)data were supplemented with data on utilization of (oral) health care services. Sampling of Belgian residents (> 5 years)took place using a multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling procedure. Ethical approval was obtained and informed consent was sought from all participants. Results. A total of 2536 households were reached, yielding 3057 respondents (52%). Questionnaire and clinical data were obtained from 90% and 84% of participants. Dentist-interviewers reported difficulties with scoring of periodontal condition and enamel defects. Contacting selected households was the most difficult and time-consuming task for the dentist-interviewers, impacting on retention rate. Conclusion. The first round of the Belgian OHDRES was successfully implemented, after long and complex preparation. The impossibility of integration with the National Health Interview Survey 2009 was a considerable draw-back complicating data collection and limiting opportunities to further data linking and creation of added value. ispartof: Journal of Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Epidemiology vol:1 issue:3 pages:45-54 status: published

The collection of information regarding the health condition, health related behaviours and care consumption profiles of a population is essential for an efficient planning of care delivery and optimal allocation of resources. To this end, health interview surveys and health examination surveys have been developed in several countries. Aim: To present the development and implementation of an oral health registration and evaluation system for the Belgian population, including some first results. [...]

The Belgian National Institute of Health Insurance is implementing an oral health data registration system. In the framework of such a system, a Case Report Form was developed both in paper and in electronic format. The aim of this study was to validate data capture for both formats of the Case Report Form. Six series of full mouth recordings simulating the clinical examination of 6 patients were set up in a Powerpoint presentation. […]

Aims: The present study examined the prevalence of dental caries in and gingivitis around permanent first molars (PFM) in relation to their timing of emergence. Methods: In a group of 1609 “early emergers” (all PFM present at baseline) and a group of 336 “late emergers” (no PFM present at baseline), caries experience, the presence of plaque, and gingival health were evaluated annually during five follow-up examinations. Results: Even though all children were born in the same year, mean DMFS scores for PFM remained higher in the early emergers throughout the study; mean buccal plaque and gingivitis scores were comparable in both subgroups. Early emergers had a significantly increased risk of caries experience in the occlusal surface of the PFM for two to four years. No consistent association was observed between timing of emergence and gingivitis levels. Conclusions: It is recommended that dental age as well as chronological age should be taken into account when caries prevalence data in young children are compared.

Teneinde te kunnen beschikken over een instrument om de mondgezondheid (en de daaraan verbonden aspecten van financiering en organisatie van zorgverlening) van de Belgische bevolking te kunnen opvolgen, bestaat de nood om een systeem van dataregistratie met betrekking tot de mondgezondheid op te starten. De interuniversitaire werkgroep ICE (Interuniversitaire Cel voor Epidemiologie) werd de opdracht toevertrouwd om een Dataregistratiesysteem voor de Mondgezondheid van de Belgische bevolking te ontwikkelen. Om de implementatie van dit 'Dataregistratiesysteem Mondgezondheid' voor te bereiden, werd een haalbaarheidsstudie opgestart. Het doel hiervan was een validatie uit te voeren van de voorgestelde meetinstrumenten en een procesevaluatie uit te voeren. Deze bundel vormt het eindverslag van de haalbaarheidsstudie. 1.2. TAKEN VAN DE ICE De haalbaarheidsstudie bevatte enkele voorbereidende stappen teneinde het 'Dataregistratiesysteem Mondgezondheid' te kunnen uitvoeren gekoppeld aan de Gezondheidsenquête 2008, georganiseerd door het WIV (Wetenschappelijk Instituut Volksgezondheid). Deze stappen waren: a) Voorbereiden van aanvragen en overeenkomsten b) Ontwikkelen en valideren van de verschillende meetinstrumenten voor het onderzoek c) Exploratie van de databank geregistreerde zorgconsumptie d) Uitvoeren van een procesevaluatie (veldwerk) Voor een specifieke omschrijving van de opdracht verwijzen we naar de "Overeenkomst tussen het Comité van de verzekering voor geneeskundige verzorging bij de dienst voor geneeskundige verzorging van het RIZIV enerzijds en Ugent, optredend in naam van het interuniversitair onderzoeksteam ICE" van 17 juli 2006. 1.3. INHOUD VAN HET EINDVERSLAG Dit eindverslag omvat * een stand van zaken wat betreft de afspraken met de verschillende partners, * een omschrijving van het klinische registratiesysteem, de definitieve vragenlijsten en documenten voor de registratie van de mondgezondheidsgegevens (mondgezondheidsenquête), * een selectie van voorbeelden van resultaten bekomen op basis van de proefenquête * een evaluatie en discussie van de hele procedure

In dit proefschrift, ‘de ontwikkeling en toepassing van een cariës risico model bij lagere schoolkinderen in Vlaanderen’ wordt mondgezondheidszorg gekaderd in een streven naar algemeen welzijn. Het begrip ‘gezondheid’ wordt gezien in zijn ‘holistische’ betekenis, namelijk een toestand van een totaal welzijn, zowel op fysisch, mentaal als sociaal vlak. Het accent ligt evenwel op mondgezondheidszorg bij kinderen en is gefocust op cariës. Ondersteund door het gezondheidspromotie concept van de Wereld Gezondheid Organisatie, wil dit onderzoek zich niet beperken tot een individualistische benadering van het cariës probleem bij kinderen. Cariësvoorkomen en risicogedrag zijn niet enkel een zaak van vrije keuze en individuele verantwoordelijkheid, maar worden veeleer beschouwd als resultaat van een breed gamma socio-structurele factoren.