Oral Health Education Interventions Among Seniors

Older adults have been described as one of the most underserved and vulnerable groups, who are at the highest risk for coronal and root caries, especially because more elderly adults are retaining their teeth. The Northeast Philadelphia KleinLife site is an important destination for the region's Jewish population comprising of at least 6500 seniors, and assisting more than 4500 seniors through food security programs. Recently, Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry (TUKSoD) purchased the dental center at the facility to expand the services provided to these underserved population and improve their oral health. The study aims to assess the efficacy of an oral health education group based activity versus an individual based oral health education activity in terms of changes in oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL), self-efficacy and oral health knowledge. Methods: A non-probability sample of 190 senior members will be invited to participate in the trial. Potential subjects will be obtained in person through the ongoing flow of patients at TUKSoD Clinic at Kleinlife and the dental school. Seniors who consent to participate in the study will be randomly allocated to one of the 3 groups (Control: subjects will continue receiving regular dental care at the clinic, Intervention 1: subjects will continue receiving regular dental care at the clinic and be invited to participate in 2 group based education sessions during a 12 month period, and Intervention 2: subjects will continue receiving regular dental care at the clinic and be invited to participate in an individual-based education and prevention activity over a 18 month period. Randomization will be determined according to a predetermined random sequence, and neither the patient nor the research staff will be aware of the randomization outcome until after the patient has agreed to participate. The OHIP-14 will be used to assess OHRQoL, and self-efficacy scores will be the primary outcomes. Initially, we will assess the differences between the interventions and control using 2-sample t-tests. The main analysis will be based on linear mixed-effects models for repeated measures (using the OHIP 14 and self-efficacy scores as continuous outcome variables) to assess differences between intervention and control groups. Similar analyses will be conducted for secondary outcome measures Statistical significance will be set at p < .05.

Inclusion criteria

• Must be 55 years old or older.
• May be new, regular, emergency patients attending the TUKSoD clinic at Kleinlife or clinics at the Dental School or utilizing medical and social services at Kleinlife who have the intention to become patients of record at the dental clinic.
• Must be able to speak and understand English.
• Must be willing to provide consent to participate in the study for himself/herself.

Exclusion criteria

• Subjects younger than 55 years old will be excluded from the study.
• Subjects who do not provide consent for participation will be excluded from the study.
• Subjects who do not speak and understand English