The Impact of Domiciliary Dental Care and Oral Health Promotion in Nursing Homes of Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Cibelle Cristina Oliveira dos Santos, Izabelle Muller Lessa Miranda, Katherine Thuller, Karoline Reis Silva, Leonardo Santos Antunes, Fernanda Signorelli Calazans and Bruna Lavinas Sayed Picciani ()
Additional contact information
Cibelle Cristina Oliveira dos Santos: Health Institute of Nova Friburgo, Fluminense Federal University, Nova Friburgo 28625650, RJ, Brazil
Izabelle Muller Lessa Miranda: Health Institute of Nova Friburgo, Fluminense Federal University, Nova Friburgo 28625650, RJ, Brazil
Katherine Thuller: Health Institute of Nova Friburgo, Fluminense Federal University, Nova Friburgo 28625650, RJ, Brazil
Karoline Reis Silva: Health Institute of Nova Friburgo, Fluminense Federal University, Nova Friburgo 28625650, RJ, Brazil
Leonardo Santos Antunes: Health Institute of Nova Friburgo, Fluminense Federal University, Nova Friburgo 28625650, RJ, Brazil
Fernanda Signorelli Calazans: Health Institute of Nova Friburgo, Fluminense Federal University, Nova Friburgo 28625650, RJ, Brazil
Bruna Lavinas Sayed Picciani: Health Institute of Nova Friburgo, Fluminense Federal University, Nova Friburgo 28625650, RJ, Brazil

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: Background: The global increase in the population older than 80 years has led to a paradigm shift centered in the hospital environment, with the inclusion of domiciliary oral health actions improving quality of life. This review evaluates the effects of domiciliary dental care and oral health promotion in nursing homes of older adults. Methods: Seven databases were searched without date restrictions from 15 September to 21 November 2024. A manual search was also performed in the reference lists of the included articles. This research included studies evaluating older adults aged ≥80 years, regardless of sex, who received domiciliary dental care associated or not with oral health promotion, evaluating periodontal condition, dental caries, and the dental and denture plaque index. Regarding data collection and analysis, a risk of bias assessment was performed using RoB 2.0 and RoB 1.0, according to the study design. The level of evidence was assessed using the GRADE tool. Results: Of the 2415 studies found, 5 met the eligibility criteria. After quality assessment, one randomized clinical trial presented a moderate risk of bias, and one presented a low risk. Also, two non-randomized studies presented a high risk and one a low risk. The certainty of evidence was classified as low for all outcomes assessed. One study demonstrated a reduction in the caries level of participants. Regarding periodontal and gingival conditions, although the occurrence of deep pockets (greater than 3.5 mm) decreased over time, there was no significant difference between the control and intervention groups. The level of dental and denture plaque showed a slight reduction. Conclusion: There is limited evidence that domiciliary dental care in nursing homes for older adults can lead to a reduction in caries levels and that oral health programs can reduce dental and denture plaque in evaluations conducted over periods of up to two years. Although the results show a limited magnitude, this does not diminish the importance of promoting domiciliary oral health care.

Keywords: older adults; home care; oral health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/683/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/683/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:5:p:683-:d:1642937

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().