Resumo

RIHS, Lilian Berta et al. Self-perception of oral health in frail elderly. Rev. Assoc. Paul. Cir. Dent. [online]. 2012, vol.66, n.2, pp. 105-109. ISSN 0004-5276.

Frailty is a relatively new aspect of population aging that still presents many questions requiring study; one of them refers to self-perception of oral health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify the self-perception of oral health conditions in elderly persons with different levels of frailty. This study was conducted with patients regularly attended at the Ambulatory Geriatric Clinic of the State University of Campinas, Brazil. An oral exam was performed and an interview held to collect information on oral health self-perception. The frail elderly were divided into two groups: pre-frail (n=29) and frail (n=29). Fifty-eight elderly persons with a mean age of 77.1 (SD=8.5) were examined. The frail elderly presented a more positive self- -perception of their oral conditions when compared with those in the pre-frail group. When clinical conditions were evaluated, the pre-frail who needed prosthetic rehabilitation classified their oral health in a negative manner. Thus, it could be concluded that for this group of individuals, a discrete relationship was verified between the condition of frailty and oral health self-perception. It is considered that other systemic conditions with greater impact on the daily lives of these elderly persons outweighed their oral conditions.

Palavras-chave : self concept; oral health education; frail elderly.