Poor oral conditions among older adults can cause significant impacts to their overall quality of life. Older adults with reduced number of functional teeth and dental diseases may experience difficulty in daily activities like chewing and eating. The aim of this study is to assess the association between oral health and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among a group of community-dwelling older adults in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 436 older adults aged 50 years and above from 20 randomly selected villages in the state. Respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to collect information on their demographic characteristics. Clinical oral examination was carried out to determine the oral health conditions of older people. The validated Malay version of Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) was used to measure OHRQoL. Total GOHAI score ranged from 12 to 60 with higher scores indicate better OHRQoL. Majority (77.1%) of the older adults had less than 20 teeth and about 18.3% were edentulous (total tooth loss). All dentate respondents had experienced dental caries. The median GOHAI score was 54.5 (IQR 50-57). About 25.5% of the older adults perceived their oral health as good, while 74.5% had poor perception on oral health. Bivariate analysis showed that less than 20 teeth and high dental caries experience were significantly associated with poor OHRQoL. A significantly higher proportion of older adults with less than 20 teeth limit the kinds of food intake, had trouble biting or chewing, and experienced tooth sensitivity. The physical functioning and well-being of the older people may be disrupted due to oral diseases. Measures of OHRQoL are important as to complement the clinical oral findings in identifying treatment needs of the geriatric patients.
elderly ; GOHAI ; oral health ; quality of life

Loss of teeth can affect masticatory efficiency in older adults. This may result in avoidance or modifications in foodchoices and lead to lower intake of important nutrients among older individuals. The aim of this study was to determinethe association between tooth loss and body mass index, BMI, among older adults in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan. Across-sectional study was carried out on 428 older adults aged 50 years and above from selected villages in district ofKuala Pilah. Respondents were interviewed to collect information on their demographic characteristics. Number of toothloss was determined through oral assessment, followed by anthropometric assessment to calculate the BMI of respondents.Findings showed that majority of the respondents were overweight and obese, 40.4% and 19.9% respectively, while onlya small proportion was underweight, 3.9%. The proportion of edentulism (total tooth loss) was 18.3% and majority ofthe older adults had lost more than 12 teeth (77.1%) and less than 4 pairs of occluding posterior teeth (86.0%). Totaland partial tooth loss was found to be not significantly associated with BMI. In relation to the arrangement of teeth,older adults with reduced number of posterior occluding pairs of teeth were more likely to experience unsatisfactoryBMI (OR = 3.61, 95% CI: 1.48, 8.76). This may suggest that functional arrangement of the tooth in the oral cavity is moreimportant than the number of tooth loss alone. Thus, maintaining an optimum number of teeth for chewing is essentialfor maintenance of ideal BMI.

The global COVID-19 Pandemic combined with nationwide economic depression and public fear had caused dental clinics in Malaysia to experience a significant reduction in patient visits with a potential impact on the socio-economic and psychological status of Malaysian private dentists. This study assesses the socio-economic and psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysian private dentists. A cross-sectional online questionnaire included demographic profile, socioeconomic factors and psychological status was used. Participation was voluntary. Descriptive statistics on the three variables were generated. Pearson Chi-square test was used to check for significant difference (p<0.05). In all, 95 private dentists voluntarily participated. Male and female participants were equally represented, mostly in the 22-25 group (62%). The Job Insecurity Scale measurement showed 58% and 48.5% participants respectively, were socio-economically and psychologically affected. The Financial Threat Scale showed 44.4% of respondents were financially affected, while 51% (measured by the General health questionnaire) displayed affected health. The socio-economicpsychological aspect was found to be statistically significant (p =0.018). Within the limitation of sample size, participating private dentists were found to be socio-economically and psychologically affected by the COVID19 pandemic.