The aim of this study is to investigate the oral health status of dental patients with dementia and to evaluate
the ability of caregivers of patients with dementia in primary oral health assessment using the Oral Health Assessment
Tool (OHAT) and dysphagia detection using the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10). Nine dementia patients with their
caregivers were voluntarily gave consented to participate in the study. Their oral health status and tongue pressure
were recorded by oral examination and tongue pressure sensor device. Socio-demographic data, individual information,
primary oral health assessment, OHAT, EAT-10, and any symptom-sign correlation of dysphagia was derived from an
interview with caregivers. Descriptive statistics were reported by the mean with SD and percentage. The mean age
of participants was 83.33 (±4.15) years old. The average remaining teeth was 11.22 (±9.74). Seven participants (77.8 %)
had fixed and/or removable dental substitution. Only 33.3 % had at least 20 functional teeth, while 22.2 % had
at least four Posterior Occluding Pairs. Almost half of the participants (44.4 %) had periodontal disease, and two
(22.2 %) had active dental caries. For the tongue pressure value, four (44.4 %) had a substandard tongue pressure
value (less than 20 kPa) which implied the risk of dysphagia. While three out of these four cases can be detected
for dysphagia signs by their caregivers using EAT-10. For the OHAT assessment, 55.6 % of the caregivers had similar
OHAT scores with dental professionals. The differences between caregivers and dental professionals in their OHAT
assessment were in the sections of oral cleanliness, the status of natural teeth, and the quantity of saliva, while
the largest frequency of agreements were lips, dentures, and dental pain. The results showed that the oral health
of the patients with dementia is not so good as almost half of the participants have a problem with periodontal
disease and 70% have less than 20 natural teeth. Also almost 80 % have less than four occluding pairs. However,
caregivers have the potential in dysphagia early detection and the ability in oral health assessment which indicate
the need for further study and to develop a training program for caregivers.