Relationship between Dental Caries Prevalence and Elderly’s Quality Of Life

Abstract

Introduction: Tooth loss is experienced by the elderly as age increases the function of the

oral cavity and the status of the oral cavity is closely related to physical, mental and social

health. Physical and mental health has an impact on quality of life that will affect social

interaction which ultimately impacts on the quality of life of the elderly. This study aimed to

identify the relationship between dental caries and quality of life influenced by oral and

dental health in the elderly. Methods: This study used cross sectional analytical method.

Ninety-one respondents aged 45-90 years old were examined. The process of collecting data

was done usinh the dental and oral health status of the WHO. To see the quality of life of

elderly people, WHOQOL-BREF was used. Both types of data obtained were processed

using statistical analysis to see the correlation. Results: Cross tabulation between the decay

index and the quality of life of the physical domain of the respondents showed 1.31 higher

risk to have poor physical health compared to those with low decay index (OR=1.31). In the

domain of psychological health, respondents with high decay index had a 1.12 higher risk of

having poor psychological health (OR=1.12). DMF index in the elderly with the social

relations domain showed 1.50 higher risk for having a poor social relationship (OR=1.50).

Conclusion: Elderly people with high DMFT index do not reduce quality of life, but quality

of life will decrease if oral and dental health decreases.