Introduction: Previous studies suggest an association between poor mastication and cognitive impairment. The role of chewing efficiency and dentition in this relation is unclear. The aim was to examine global cognitive functioning and dentition as predictors for chewing efficiency, in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study, 136 people with MCI or dementia were included. The chewing efficiency was assessed with a two-colored chewing gum and analyzed with the Chewing Efficiency Analysis software. The level of global cognitive functioning was measured with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) by trained clinical staff. An oral examination was performed by a dentist and included the number of present teeth, the number of occluding pairs, and the presence of prostheses. Age, gender, and educational years were derived from the medical records. Univariate and multivariate backward stepwise linear regression analyses were used to evaluate global cognitive functioning and dentition as predictors for chewing efficiency. Results: The mean age of the participants was 82.1 (SD 5.8) years, and 74 (54.4%) were female. The participants had a median MMSE score of 22.4 (IQR 18.0-26.0) and a median Chewing Efficiency Analysis score of 0.46 (IQR 0.14-0.59). The median number of teeth was 13.0 (IQR 0.0-23.0), and the median number of occluding pairs was 0.0 (IQR 0.0-7.0). Sixty-four (47.4%) of the participants wore full prosthesis in the upper jaw. In univariate linear regression analyses, predictive factors for the Chewing Efficiency Analysis score were age, MMSE score, full prosthesis in the
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.