ObjectiveTo understand oral health of the elderly in nursing home in Songjiang District, Shanghai, and to provide references for improving their oral health.

MethodsA total of 375 elderly people in 15 nursing homes in Songjiang District were investigated by questionnaires and oral examination.Tooth loss, denture repair, periodontal condition and oral hygiene habit were analyzed.

ResultsThe rate of the tooth loss reached 94.13%.The tooth loss rate in females (96.09%) was significantly higher than that in males (91.03%) (P < 0.01).The rate of complete edentulous jaws was 28.27%.There was a significant difference between the rate of complete edentulous jaws in females (34.35%) and in males (18.62%)(P < 0.05).The rate of denture restoration was 91.51% (97/106).The number of existing teeth per capita was 11.54, and the number of teeth per capita in males (14.48 per person) was significantly higher than that in females (9.70 per person) (P < 0.05).Both the rate of the tooth loss of upper and lower posterior teeth were significantly higher than that of upper and lower anterior teeth (P < 0.01).Thirty-three percent (33.33%) of the elderly brushed their teeth more than twice a day, and almost 20.53% of them didn′t brush their teeth.

ConclusionThe oral health of the elderly in the nursing homes in Songjiang District is not satisfactory at present.It is necessary to strengthen the publicity and education of oral health care for the elderly in nursing homes in cooperation with multiple departments to improve their awareness of oral health care including appropriate tooth repair for the quality of life.