2020, Volume 13, Issue 3, pp 321 – 328

Evaluation of Dental Health in Terminally Ill Patients

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Authors and Affiliations

* Corresponding Author: Dr. Tanoj Kumar, Professor and Head, Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology,Patna Dental College and Hospital, Patna, Bihar. E-mail: drtanojkumar@rediffmail.com Phone: +919431647732

Abstract

Dental health plays an imperative role in the general health and well-being of an individual. Terminally ill patients due to a compromised immune response are susceptible to a wide array of oral complications, which may affect their ability to speak and chew, leading to malnutrition.

The present study was conducted to evaluate dental health and various oral manifestations in terminally ill patients.

One hundred twenty terminally ill patients hospitalized with diseases of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, circulatory system, liver, and endocrinal disorders were included in the study. The evaluation of oral manifestations and their prevalence was done by a single examiner. The oral health was evaluated according to symptoms exhibited by the patients and clinical presentation.

Of the patients included in the study, 78 were male, and 42 were female. All the individuals were adults between 25 to 55 years of age. Out of 120 admitted terminally ill patients, 27 subjects had respiratory diseases, 17 had gastrointestinal disorders, 5 had disorders of the circulatory system, 39 had liver disorders, and 32 had endocrine disorders.

A need for added comprehension is mandatory to link the inter-relationships between dentistry and medicine to further perk up the management of the overall health of patients, which will further reinforce the partnership between dental and medical communities.

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About this article

PMC ID: 7550152
PubMed ID: 33072203
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2020-0023

Article Publishing Date (print): Jul-Sep 2020
Available Online: 

Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.


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