A ten-year investigation and analysis of healthcare seeking behaviors among 10,268 elderly patients with periodontal disease
DAI Xin
QIAO Peng-yan
CHEN Yu-hui
LIU Yan
TANG Chu-hua
Abstract：Objective To investigate and analyze the healthcare seeking behaviors of elderly patients in the periodontology department of a comprehensive hospital,providing valuable references for the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease in elderly patients.Methods Data were collected from elderly patients who visited the Periodontology Department of the Military Stomatology Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center,Ninth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from January 2014 to December 2023.A retrospective analysis was conducted focusing on age,gender,and healthcare behaviors.Results A total of elderly patients and above were included in the study.Patients who underwent supragingival scaling accounted for 41.39％of the total.Only 14.90％of the patients had periodontal examination records,among which only 169 patients had two or more periodontal examination records.Most patients had their first follow-up within 180 days.Age and gender both had significant influences on the scaling behavior of the elderly.Conclusion Most elderly patients only receive supragingival scaling during the basic periodontal treatment phase,with fewer follow-up visits and longer intervals between check-ups.Given the high prevalence of systemic diseases among this population,healthcare professionals should pay close attention to their overall health status.It is essential to strengthen oral hygiene instructions and follow-up care to effectively enhance their awareness of oral disease prevention and increase their willingness to seek medical treatment proactively.
Keywords：elderlyperiodontal diseasebasic treatmenthealthcare behavior
Publication Date：2025-03-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 95-98,132 )