Oral Health of Parkinson’s Disease Patients: A Case-Control Study

Table 2

Frequencies, including percentages, of the general subjective aspects of oral health and the often/occasional oral health complaints of the (dentate) Parkinson’s disease patients (PD) and the (dentate) control subjects (control) and the results of the Chi-square test carried out to assess statistically significant differences (∗) between PD and control.

Variables	PD	Control	Chi-square test
All persons: general subjective variables
Educational level
(i) primary	18 (24%)	12 (16%)
(ii) secondary	21 (29%)	35 (47%)
(iii) tertiary	34 (46%)	27 (37%)
(iv) missing value	1 (1%)	—	;
Smoking status	6 (8.1%)	6 (8.1%)	—
Length of time since the last oral health consultation
(i) less than half a year	52 (70.3%)	49 (66.2%)
(ii) between a half and two years	15 (20.3%)	22 (29.8%)	;
Number of oral health consultations during the previous five years
(i) 0	4 (5.4%)	2 (2.7%)
(ii) 1–5	13 (17.6%)	17 (23.0%)
(iii) 6–10	30 (40.5%)	36 (48.6%)
(iv) 11 or more	27 (36.5%)	19 (25.7%)	;
Daily oral hygiene care supported by a professional or voluntary care provider	11 (14.9%)	1 (1.4%)	;
Electric toothbrush used	36 (48.6%)	30 (40.5%)	;
All persons: oral health complaints
Chewing problems	22 (29.7%)	3 (4.1%)	;
Biting problems	26 (35.1%)	7 (9.5%)	;
Taste disturbance	17 (23.0%)	1 (1.4%)	;
Burning mouth	3 (4.1%)	0	;
Xerostomia	48 (64.9%)	24 (32.4%)	;
Halitosis	14 (18.9%)	9 (12.2%)	;
Remaining food particles	52 (70.3%)	51 (68.9%)	;
Dentate persons: oral health complaints
Tooth mobility	12 (18.5%)	2 (3.1%)	;
Toothache	10 (15.4%)	6 (9.2%)	;
Tooth sensitivity	17 (26.2%)	11 (16.9%)	;
Painful gums	12 (18.5%)	7 (10.8%)	;
Bleeding gums	13 (20.0%)	12 (18.5%)	;