Prevalence of Oral Mucosal Lesions and Related Risk Factors in Elderly People Residing in Nursing Homes in Bandar Abbas in 2018

In addition to dental problems, the increase in the average age of the population causes various diseases which affect the oral mucosa of the elderly. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of oral lesions and the related risk factors in the elderly residing in nursing homes in Bandar Abbas in 2018.

This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 68 elderly people residing in nursing homes in Bandar Abbas in 2018. The obtained data were recorded in a checklist and analyzed in SPSS software (version 20) using Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, and Fisher exact tests.

Out of 68 elderly subjects, 42 (61.8%) cases were men and 26 (38.2%) were women, and the mean age was reported as 70.59 years. Oral lesions were observed in 69.1% of the subjects. The most observed lesions were pigmentation (42.6%) and the most common sites of lesions were gingiva and alveolar ridge (31.7%). Furthermore, a significant relationship was detected between the presence of oral lesions and smoking (P= 0.034).

The relatively high prevalence of oral lesions in the elderly who were investigated in the current study suggested the need for more serious follow-up and dental examinations in this population.