Oral frailty is defined as a decrease in oral function accompanied by a decrease in mental and physical functions. Studies showing that people with oral frailty are at high risk of physical frailty, sarcopenia, severe conditions requiring nursing care and death have been reported in Japan. An increase in life expectancy and maintenance of teeth result in a decrease in the effect of the number of teeth. In contrast, a decrease in oral function as a result of aging has been suggested to have major effects on dysfunction and mortality risk. The present report is a narrative review of major clinical studies on the relationships of the number of teeth, dentures, occlusion and oral function with longevity, with the aim of providing information for future studies centered on oral function in Japan or overseas. This review clearly shows the relationships of the number of teeth, dentures, and occlusion with health and longevity. Recent studies have shown that, besides maintenance of the number of teeth, attempting to maintain or increase oral function, having a good diet and maintaining nutritional status are all linked to general health. Decreased oral function is a major risk factor for developing malnutrition and sarcopenia. Oral frailty, a new concept that has been recently introduced in Japan, is considered to have major effects on dental and oral health policies in Japan, in the old‐age group, and is expected to be reflected in the dental and oral health policies of various countries, as they also predict increased life expectancies. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; ••: ••–••.

We concluded that POHC reduced the incidences of oral mucositis and FN by upgrading the overall oral hygiene during HSCT.

［Running title］ Effect of folinic acid on oral mucositis［Key words］ oral mucositis, folinic acid, stem cell transplantation -2 - AbstractSince the safety of folinic acid administration and its efficacy for reducing the toxicity of methotrexate (MTX) remain controversial, we assessed the effect of folinic acid administration after MTX treatment for GVHD prophylaxis on the incidence of oral mucositis and acute GVHD. We retrospectively analyzed data for 118 patients who had undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and had received MTX for GVHD prophylaxis. Multivariate analysis showed that systemic folinic acid administration significantly reduced the incidence of severe oral mucositis (OR = 0.13, 95%CI 0.04-0.73, P = 0.014).There was also a tendency for a lower incidence of severe oral mucositis in patients who received folinic acid mouthwash (OR = 0.39, 95%CI 0.15-1.00, P = 0.051). No significant difference was observed in the incidence of acute GVHD between patients who received systemic folinic acid administration and those who did not (P = 0.88). Systemic folinic acid administration and mouthwash appear to be useful for reducing the incidence of severe oral mucositis in patients who have received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation using MTX as GVHD prophylaxis.

Goals of work Severe oral mucositis developed in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) accompanies intolerable pain and risk for systemic bacteremia infection.Conventional stem cell transplantation (CST) and reduced-intensity regimens for allogeneic HSCT (RIST) may differently affect the occurrence and severity of oral mucositis. Here, we comparatively examined oral mucositis in patients undergoing CST and that in RIST patients to search for measures to alleviate oral mucositis. Patients and methodsWe retrospectively analyzed the data of 130 consecutive patients undergoing HSCT (conventional, 60; RIST, 70). Oral mucositis was evaluated according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE) version 3.0. We also investigated risk factors for severe oral mucositis in each regimen. Main resultsThe incidence of oral mucositis was not significantly different between RIST and CST patients. Use of opioid analgesics to control pain due to oral mucositis was significantly less in patients undergoing RIST compared with those receiving CST. The risk factors for severe oral mucositis, determined by univariate and multivariate analyses, were "younger age (< 40) " in CST, and "longer duration of neutropenia (≥ 14 days) " in RIST . 4Conclusions Although the incidences of oral mucositis were almost the same, the need for opioid analgesics and the risk factors for severe oral mucositis differed between CST and RIST patients.

Objective: To investigate the association between oral health management (OHM) by dental hygienists and the occurrence of pneumonia, and determine the effectiveness of OHM in pneumonia prevention. Background:In long-term care facilities in Japan, the need for professional OHM is increasing with an increase in the number of severely debilitated residents.