Objective: To evaluate oral health conditions and oral health-related quality of life in community-dwellers aged ≥ 45 years in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland.

Materials and methods: One hundred subjects (63% males; mean age: 73 years), selected randomly using a cluster procedure within the Canton of Bern, underwent a clinical oral examination after completing questionnaires on socio-economic level, medical history, oral health behaviour, and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Descriptive analyses and multinomial regression models were applied to investigate the association between oral health diseases (dental caries and periodontitis) and specific participant characteristics.

Results: The mean number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) was 0.30, 4.20, and 8.75, respectively; the mean DMFT score = 13.35. Dental caries prevalence (ICDAS > 0) was 15% and periodontitis prevalence was 46%. Logistic regression models revealed that living in an urban area was associated with lower odds (OR 0.03,_95%CI 0.00-0.36) of having periodontal disease. Male gender was associated with lower odds for dental caries (OR 0.31,_95%CI 0.09-1.01) and total lack of professional tooth cleaning was associated with higher odds for dental caries (OR 41.99,_95%CI 0.01-0.38). Ordinal logistic regression revealed that both the presence of dental caries (RR 12.80,_95%CI 1.47-111.20) and periodontal disease (RR 6.91,_95%CI 1.16-84.00) were statistically significantly associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Conclusion: Within the study limitations, untreated dental caries and periodontal disease are prevalent in the Swiss population, despite the high level of self-performed oral hygiene and access to the dental care system.