The oral health status of senile dementia patients: a systematic review

To systematically evaluate the oral health status of senile dementia patients.

The CNKI, Wanfang, CBM, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched online. Literature on the oral health status of Alzheimer′s patients published at home and abroad was collected. The search period extended to December 2018. Revman 5.3 software was used to perform the meta-analysis of homogeneous research.

Ten studies satisfied the eligibility criteria. The meta-analysis revealed that older people with dementia had fewer remaining natural teeth [MD＝-3.22 (95% CI -5.59, -0.85)] and more decayed missing filled teeth [MD＝3.36 (95% CI 0.80, 5.92)] than the healthy control group (P < 0.05). The plaque index [MD＝0.86 (95% CI 0.45, 1.28)], percentage bleeding on probing [MD＝16.60 (95% CI 9.81, 23.39)], probing depth [MD＝0.68 (95% CI 0.03, 1.34)], and clinical attachment loss [MD＝1.13 (95% CI 0.38, 1.88)] were significantly higher in older people with dementia than in the healthy control group (P < 0.05).

The dental and periodontal health status of Alzheimer′s patients is worse than that of healthy controls. Thus, the former group needs special oral care and treatment.