Associations between Oral Hypofunction Tests, Age, and Sex

Abstract

Oral function declines in older individuals due to disease and age-related changes, making them vulnerable to oral and physical frailty. Therefore, it is important to manage the decline in oral function in older outpatients. Oral hypofunction is diagnosed by seven tests related to oral function, oral hygiene, oral moisture, occlusal force, oral diadochokinesis, tongue pressure, masticatory function, and swallowing function. However, sex or age were not factored into the current reference values of these tests. We included subjects attending the dental hospital clinic for maintenance, and recorded and analyzed oral hypofunction and the factors associated with its diagnosis. Of the 134 outpatients (53 males and 81 females, mean age 75.2 ± 11.2 years), 63% were diagnosed with oral hypofunction. Oral hypofunction prevalence increased significantly with age, and significant variations were observed in all tests. Furthermore, oral hygiene and swallowing function were not associated with oral hypofunction diagnosis. All examined factors decreased with increasing age, even after adjusting sex, except for oral hygiene and moisture. Occlusal force and masticatory function were higher in men after adjusting age. This study suggested that older outpatients were likely to be diagnosed with oral hypofunction, and that the test reference value and their selection for oral hypofunction should be reconsidered.

Impact of oral health guidance on the tongue‐lip motor function of outpatients at a dental hospital

“…It is, therefore, necessary to consider a more appropriate intervention method and to further examine whether the reference value of low tongue‐lip motor function in oral hypofunction patients is high. In our recent previous research, 22 we found that the ODK score of dental outpatients decreased with increasing age, and prevalence in low tongue‐lip motor function patients was about 40%‐60%. Combined with the results of the current study, these findings suggest that the reference value of ODK should be reconsidered in the future.…”

Regular Oral Health Management Improved Oral Function of Outpatients with Oral Hypofunction in Dental Hospital: A Longitudinal Study

“…The management of oral hypofunction in dental outpatient clinics is one of the most important strategies for preventing oral frailty that dentists can implement into routine practice [ 8 , 9 ]. In Japan, oral hypofunction was first defined as a condition of complexly reduced oral functions, which satisfied three or more of the following seven oral examination criteria: oral hygiene, oral wetness, occlusal force, tongue-lip motor function, tongue pressure, masticatory function, and swallowing function.…”

“…In Japan, oral hypofunction has been included in the national medical insurance as a dental disease since 2018, and the need for oral health management of oral hypofunction in dental care is increasing. The prevalence of oral hypofunction increases with age [ 8 , 10 ].…”

Relationship of preoperative oral hypofunction with prognostic nutritional index in gastric cancer

“…The individual functions of the parts of the oral cavity work complementarily; therefore, the decline in oral function is not detected early and progresses gradually. Therefore, oral hypofunction (OHF) assessment has been proposed to quantitatively evaluate functional decline, which will lead to early detection of oral hypofunction [15,16]. The diagnosis of oral hypofunction is based on seven tests, and a diagnosis is made when the results of three or more of the seven tests are below normal values.…”

“…Therefore, oral hypofunction (OHF) assessment has been proposed to quantitatively evaluate functional decline, which will lead to early detection of oral hypofunction [15,16]. The diagnosis of oral hypofunction is based on seven tests, and a diagnosis is made when the results of three or more of the seven tests are below normal values.…”