Affiliations: [a]
Brightwater Research Centre, Brightwater Care Group, Inglewood, WA, Australia
| [b] International Research Collaborative – Oral Health and Equity, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Dr Somayyeh Azimi, 2A Walter Road West, Inglewood, WA 6052, Australia. E-mail: Somayyeh.azimi@uwa.edu.au.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Acquired brain injury (ABI) can cause long-term disability and functional impairment. OBJECTIVE:This study aims to determine the prevalence of dental hospitalizations in an ABI cohort across different phases of injury and identify factors associated with such hospitalizations. METHODS:The cohort comprises patients with ABI (n = 683), traumatic (n = 282) and non-traumatic (n = 401) who were admitted to a neurorehabilitation service in Western Australia between 1991 and 2016. De-identified patient data were linked to the Hospital Morbidity Data Collection. The incidence of dental hospitalizations was calculated per 1,000 person-years (PY), and associated factors were investigated using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression. RESULTS:Dental hospitalizations significantly increased from pre-injury (3.35/1,000PY) to acute injury (302.65, Δ+299.3) and remained elevated in the post-acute phase (23.98, Δ+20.63). Dental caries had the highest incidence rate among all diagnoses in the pre-injury and post-acute phases (0.68 and 8.93, respectively), followed by gingivitis and periodontal diseases (3.60) in the post-acute phase. Tooth extractions were performed more often than restorative and preventive treatment in the pre-and post-injury phase, p < 0.001. Dental hospitalizations were associated with the type of ABI, age at injury, remoteness, and history of pre-injury hospitalization. CONCLUSION:Implementing comprehensive preventive dental care can reduce potentially preventable dental hospitalization among ABI patients.
Keywords: Brain injuries, traumatic, stroke, disabled person, hospitalization, dental care, Australia
