The Long-Term Care Insurance Law of 2000 authorizes dental services in health care facilities for the elderly. We investigated the use of drugs by residents in health care facilities for the elderly and compared it with the use by outpatients at our dental clinic for the elderly. The subjects were 98 residents (21 males and 77 females) with a mean age of 86 years who were in health care facilities for the elderly in May 2005, and 178 patients (67 males and 111 females) with a mean age of 77 years who visited the Dental Clinic for the Elderly at Osaka Dental University Hospital between May and July 2005. Based on records at each facility we investigated the underlying diseases, drugs in use, degree of independence of each patient, and the level of care each needed. At our dental clinic for the elderly, the underlying diseases and drugs in use were surveyed by a medical interview and by reviewing package inserts accompanying the drugs.
The number of underlying diseases was greater in the health care facilities for the elderly than in our dental clinic for the elderly for all age groups. Cardiovascular diseases accounted for the greatest percentage, and neurological diseases were more common in the health care facilities than in our dental clinic. The mean number of drugs in use was similar among the age groups: about 3.3 in the Dental Clinic for the Elderly and 4.1 in the health care facilities. The percentages of gastrointestinal drugs and neurological drugs were greater in the health facilities than at our clinic. Fifty percent of the cardiovascular medications were for hypertension, and more than half of the hypotensive medications were calcium antagonists.