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Abstract
Background
According to the literature, the occurrence of dysphagia is high in cases of stroke, and its severity can be enhanced by loss of teeth and the use of poorly fitting prostheses.
Objective
To verify that the status of oral health influences the level of oral intake and the degree of swallowing dysfunction in elderly patients with stroke in chronic phase.
Methods
Thirty elderly individuals affected by stroke in chronic phase participated. All subjects underwent assessment of their oral condition, with classification from the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) and nasoendoscopic swallowing assessment to classify the degree of dysphagia. The statistical analysis examined a heterogeneous group (HG, n=30) and two groups designated by the affected body part, right (RHG, n=8) and left (LHG, n=11), excluding totally dentate or edentulous individuals without rehabilitation with more than one episode of stroke.
Results
There was a negative correlation between the need for replacement prostheses and the FOIS scale for the HG (P=0.02) and RHG (P=0.01). Differences in FOIS between types of prostheses of the upper dental arch in the LHG (P=0.01) and lower dental arch in the RHG (P=0.04). A negative correlation was found between the number of teeth present and the degree of dysfunction in swallowing liquid in the LHG (P=0.05). There were differences in the performance in swallowing solids between individuals without prosthesis and those with partial prosthesis in the inferior dental arch (P=0.04) for the HG.
Conclusion
The need for replacement prostheses, type of prostheses, and the number of teeth of elderly patients poststroke in chronic phase showed an association with the level of oral intake and the degree of oropharyngeal dysphagia.
Acknowledgments
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee for Research of FOB/USP under case number 050/2009 and was carried out with the express agreement of the enrolled individuals. We thank the Foundation for Research Support (FAPESP) for the funding for the study.
Disclosure
The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.