Welcome to the

FDI Frailty Guide

For dentists and dental teams to be used prior or during consultations with older adults above the age of 65.

A two-step pre-assessment will establish the dependency-level and the oral frailty risk-level of the patient, followed by targeted prevention advice. A PDF with the pre-assessment results and prevention advice can be downloaded and/or received via email.

This guide can be used on a desktop, tablet or cell phone and is suitable for in-person and online consultations.

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Pre-Assessment Step 1

Assess the patient's Dependency Level as per General Health Condition to receive targeted prevention advice.

Clinical Frailty Scale Health Questionnaire

For each question, please check the box that best describes your patient's usual health state. If they are currently ill, think about their health state approximately two weeks ago.

Is your patient terminally ill?

Yes No

With how many of the following basic activities of daily living does your patient require help from another person?

Dressing and undressing themselves (including putting on socks and shoes)
Taking a bath or shower
Eating
Walking
Getting out of bed

None 1-2 Activities 3-5 Activities

With how many of the following instrumental activities of daily living does your patient require help from another person?

Using the telephone (including looking up numbers and dialing)
Going shopping for groceries or clothes
Preparing their own meals (including planning and cooking full meals)
Doing their housework (including heavy housework)
Taking their own medicine (incl. preparing it and taking the right dose at the right time)
Handling their own money (including writing cheques and paying bills)
*Exclude activities that the patient never had to do before or had always relied on someone else to do.

None 1-4 Activities 5-6 Activities

How many chronic conditions has a doctor told your patient that they have/had which are expected to last or have already lasted, 6 months or more?

0-9 Conditions 10+ Conditions

In general, would your patient say their health is:

Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor

In a typical week, how often does your patient feel that everything they do is an effort?

Rarely or Never (less than 1 day) Some of the time (1 to 2 days) Occasionally (3 to 4 days) All of the time (5 to 7 days)

In a typical week, how often does your patient engage in moderate or strenuous sports or recreational activities (such as dancing, golf without a cart, softball, jogging, swimming, cycling, or other similar activities)?

Never Seldom (1 to 2 days) Sometimes (3 to 4 days) Often (5 to 7 days)

Pre-Assessment Step 2

Assess the patient's Risk of Oral Frailty to receive targeted prevention advice.

The Oral Frailty Index-5 Questionnaire

For each question, please check the box that best describes your patient's usual health state. If they are currently ill, think about their health state approximately two weeks ago.

Has your patient choked on tea or soup recently?

Yes No

Does your patient have less than 20 teeth left?

Yes No

Does your patient have difficulties eating tough foods?

Yes No

Does your patient have problems with inarticulate or incomprehensible speech?

Yes No

Does your patient often experience having a dry mouth?

Yes No

Tomoki Tanaka, Hirohiko Hirano, Katsuya Iijima et al. Oral frailty 5-item Checklist to predict adverse health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults: A Kashiwa cohort study, Geriatr Gerontol Int, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/ggi.14634