With care dependency, untreated root caries lesions (RCLs) and irregular dental visits are common. RCLs, if left untreated, could lead to pain, tooth loss, difficulties eating, and impact on general health. Therefore, there is a need for prevention and effective treatment for RCLs, and especially in those with care dependency. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effect of domiciliary professional oral care on root caries development and progression, in comparison with self-performed or nurse-assisted oral care. A literature search was conducted in four databases in November 2022. Two authors independently screened the literature throughout the review process. Five of the identified studies were found to be relevant. Four of these were assessed as having moderate risk of bias and were included in the review, while one study had high risk of bias and was excluded from further analyses. Due to heterogenicity of the included studies (and of the interventions and outcomes), no meta-analysis or synthesis without meta-analysis (SWiM) was performed. The participation of dental personnel performing mechanical plaque removal and fluoride, or chlorhexidine application seems beneficial for care-dependent older adults with risk of RCLs development and progression. However, future studies are needed.

Background: The body mass index (BMI) is prone to misclassification of obesity due to age-related height loss and resulting measurement errors. Knee-height based BMI (KH-BMI) has not been previously studied in relation to mortality risk in older adults. Aim: To evaluate the age- and sex-specific mortality risk relationship using classic BMI and knee height predicted BMI (KH-BMI) overweight and obesity in a 15-year follow-up study including older Swedish adults aged 60–93 years. Methods: A 15-year follow-up study among 2,786 individuals aged ≥ 60 years. Height, weight and KH were measured. KH-predicted height was estimated using formulated gender-specific equations. Classic BMI and KH-BMI (kg/m²) were calculated. Mortality data was obtained from the Swedish death registry. Questionnaires were used to collect data on obesity-related lifestyle factors and comorbidities. Results: Cox regression revealed that using the classic BMI, when comparing with the normal/underweight reference group, there was a mortality risk among overweight men (HR = 0.67, 0.52–0.87), overweight women (HR = 0.79, 0.65–0.97), and obese men (HR = 0.60, 0.41–0.89) aged ≥ 80 years old. Using the KH-BMI, only overweight men and overweight women aged ≥ 80 years had a lower mortality risk, men (HR = 0.71, 0.55–0.92); women (HR = 0.77, 0.62–0.95) after adjusting for obesity-related lifestyle factors and comorbidities. Discussion: There is evidence that obesity is overestimated by the BMI, in comparison with the KH-BMI classification. In terms of mortality risk and after adjusting for height, there remains a paradoxical protective association between overweight and mortality. Conclusion: Regardless of classic BMI or KH-BMI estimation, overweight men and women aged ≥ 80 years had a lower mortality risk compared to normal/underweight men and women ≥ 80 years.