Effectiveness of a Dental Intervention to Improve Oral Health among Home Care Recipients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Czwikla, Jonas; Herzberg, Alexandra; Kapp, Sonja; Kloep, Stephan; Rothgang, Heinz; Nitschke, Ina; Haffner, Cornelius; Hoffmann, Falk

We quantified the effectiveness of an oral health intervention among home care recipients. Seven German insurance funds invited home care recipients to participate in a two-arm randomized controlled trial. At t(0), the treatment group (TG) received an intervention comprising an oral health assessment, dental treatment recommendations and oral health education. The control group (CG) received usual care. At t(1), blinded observers assessed objective (Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT)) and subjective (Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)) oral health and the objective periodontal situation (Periodontal Screening Index (PSI)). Of 9656 invited individuals, 527 (5.5%) participated. In the TG, 164 of 259 (63.3%) participants received the intervention and 112 (43.2%) received an outcome assessment. In the CG, 137 of 268 (51.1%) participants received an outcome assessment. The OHAT mean score (2.83 vs. 3.31, p = 0.0665) and the OHIP mean score (8.92 vs. 7.99, p = 0.1884) did not differ significantly. The prevalence of any periodontal problems (77.1% vs. 92.0%, p = 0.0027) was significantly lower in the TG than in the CG, but the prevalence of periodontitis was not (35.4% vs. 44.6%, p = 0.1764). Future studies should investigate whether other recruitment strategies and a more comprehensive intervention might be more successful in improving oral health among home care recipients.