Effect of oral health education programs for caregivers on oral hygiene of the elderly: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of oral health education for caregivers on the oral health status of the elderly. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources: The Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), PsycINFO, CINAHL were searched up to September, 2014. Review methods: Randomized controlled trials or comparative before-and-after studies involving an oral health education program for caregivers of the elderly (≥65 years old) were identified by two independent reviewers. Primary outcome was the percentage of patients with normal mucosa in the oral cavity. The secondary outcomes were the percentage of patients with no visible plaque and the percentage of patients without denture stomatitis. Results: A total of five studies, involving 602 elders, met the eligible criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. It was found that the percentage of residents with normal oral mucosa (odds ratio (OR). =. 1.81, P=. 0.027), no visible plaque (OR. =. 1.54, P=. 0.001), and no detectable denture stomatitis (OR. =. 2.89, P<. 0.001) significantly increased after the group was treated by caregivers who had received a recent oral health education program. Conclusions: The systemic review and meta-analysis found limited evidence that oral health education for caregivers may be effective for improving the oral health of the elderly.