Cognitive Performance and Its Associations with Dental Caries: Results from the Dental, Oral, Medical Epidemiological (DOME) Records-Based Nationwide Study

Abstract

Relatively few studies have analyzed the association between cognitive performance and dental status. This study aimed to analyze the association between cognitive performance and dental caries. Included were data from the dental, oral, medical epidemiological (DOME) study; cross-sectional records-based research, which integrated large socio-demographic, medical, and dental databases of a nationally representative sample of young to middle-aged military personnel (N = 131,927, mean age: 21.8 ± 5.9 years, age range: 18–50). The cognitive function of draftees is routinely measured at age 17 years using a battery of psychometric tests termed general intelligence score (GIS). The mean number of decayed teeth exhibited a gradient trend from the lowest (3.14 ± 3.58) to the highest GIS category (1.45 ± 2.19) (odds ratio (OR) lowest versus highest = 5.36 (5.06–5.68), p < 0.001). A similar trend was noted for the other dental parameters. The associations between GIS and decayed teeth persisted even after adjusting for socio-demographic parameters and health-related habits. The adjustments attenuated the OR but did not eliminate it (OR lowest versus highest = 3.75 (3.38–4.16)). The study demonstrates an association between cognitive performance and caries, independent of the socio-demographic and health-related habits that were analyzed. Better allocation of resources is recommended, focusing on populations with impaired cognitive performance in need of dental care.

Nutritional Assessment of Denture Wearers Using Matched Electronic Dental‐Health Record Data

“…Such a dataset will have a cohort with various ethnicities, and large sample size, and the generalizability of the results. [65][66][67][68]…”

“…With the rising awareness to integrate dental and medical care, matched EDR‐EHR data is a rich resource to study the effect of oral health and dental treatments on overall health and vice versa. Such a dataset will have a cohort with various ethnicities, and large sample size, and the generalizability of the results 65–68 …”

“Dental Cluster” Versus “Metabolic Cluster”: Analyzing the Associations of Planned and Delivered Dental Procedures with Metabolic Syndrome, Utilizing Data from the Dental, Oral, Medical Epidemiological (DOME) Cross-Sectional Record-Based Nationwide Study

“…The DOME structured repository brings together comprehensive socio-demographic, health-related habits, dental, and medical data of a nationally representative sample of military personnel from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In Israel, military service is mandatory for all eligible citizens, and, therefore, the military population in Israel is large and creates a well-grounded data source for epidemiologic research among young and middle-aged adults [12,20,[32][33][34]. It is noteworthy that medically complex individuals also enlist and perform non-combat tasks, and those considered unfit for physical or mental reasons can apply for voluntary tasks [12,33].…”

“…Information regarding the socio-demographic parameters captured in the DOME repository has been detailed in the DOME protocol paper [33]. In summary, the sociodemographic information included (1) age (years), (2) sex: male or female, (3) socioeconomic status (SES): lowest (1st-4th deciles)/medium (5th-7th)/highest (8th-10th), (4) locality of residence: urban Jewish/urban non-Jewish/rural, and (f) country of birth: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union (FSU), Asia, Ethiopia, Africa, North America, South America, or Israel [33,34].…”

“…Health-related habits were self-reported and included the following: currently smoking and teeth brushing once a day or more (yes/no); cariogenic dietary habits (e.g., snacks, sweets, etc., between/instead of meals); and sweetened beverage consumption (≥cup/day) [33,34].…”