Salivary albumin and other constituents and their relation to oral and general health in the elderly.

Objective: Our objective was to study salivary albumin concentrations in the elderly. We expected higher albumin values in the frail and diseased elderly in comparison to the more fit elderly. This was thought to be due to the eventually decreased mucosal integrity in the diseased patients.

Prevalence of subjective dry mouth and burning mouth in hospitalized elderly patients and outpatients in relation to saliva, medication, and systemic diseases.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of dry mouth and burning mouth in the frail elderly. We expected to find the studied symptoms more frequently in the frail elderly than in those who were healthier.

Study Design: We examined 175 home-living elderly patients (mean age with SD, 82 +/- 5.

Oral health in hospitalized and nonhospitalized community-dwelling elderly patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare hospitalized and nonhospitalized home-dwelling elderly patients in a single community with respect to oral health and general health and to study risk factors for edentulousness in these patients. The study hypothesis was that hospitalized elderly patients would have poorer oral health than nonhospitalized elderly patients.

Study Design: Oral health status was examined according to the World Health Organization's guidelines for 181 hospitalized patients (mean age, 81.

Salivary flow and composition in elderly patients referred to an acute care geriatric ward.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to study oral health and salivary aspects of the frail elderly. The study hypothesis was that elderly patients with many concomitant diseases and drugs would have different salivary secretion rates and biochemical constituents than healthier patients.

Study Design: The stimulated flow, pH buffering capacity, and biochemical constituents were analyzed from salivas of 169 elderly subjects (51 men and 118 women, mean age 81.

Oral infections in home-living elderly patients admitted to an acute geriatric ward.

Little is known about the oral health of the frail and home-living elderly. The effects of dentogenic infections on the general condition of the elderly are also unknown. We therefore set out to investigate 191 elderly patients referred to an acute geriatric hospital due to sudden worsening of their general health.