Senior citizens require a healthy oral cavity and healthy teeth in order to eat, speak and preserve their well-being. With age we know that the incidence and prevalence of diseases and symptoms originating from the oral cavity are more common compared to younger age groups. Senior citizens are the fastest growing population on earth, thus the need of healthcare providers with knowledge and skills in oral healthcare are in great demand. The purpose of this thesis is to identify oral healthcare interventions and educational interventions which have been shown to improve oral health of residents over 65 years of age. A literature review was conducted in which 15 scientific articles were scrutinized. Databases used were PubMed, Cinahl and Scopus. The results imply that good oral healthcare not only improve the oral health of senior citizens, but also prevents the occurrence of other diseases such as pneumonia and improve the overall quality of life. The studies also showed that caregivers knowledge, awareness and self-esteem in their work with oral care increased by means of oral hygiene education. Our conclusion is that oral hygiene education of caregivers are effective only in the short term perspective. Therefore, based on our sources, we conclude that in order to create a solid long term solution in the field of oral healthcare, which enable these positive effects of preventive care measurements to prevail, specific educational program which address these issues must be developed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-174994 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Zarra, Rodina, Yazar, Yusuf |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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