Factors associated with masticatory performance in community-dwelling older adults

Rate of oral frailty and oral hypofunction in rural community‐dwelling older Japanese individuals

“…In addition, it is reported that the number of present teeth affects the occlusal force and the gummy jelly score. 27,28 This suggests that the number of present teeth has a significant effect on the rate of oral hypofunction. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the influence of age and the number of present teeth when conducting research on oral hypofunction.…”

“…Subordinate symptoms of oral frailty and oral hypofunction by age group The colour-changeable chewing gum used in oral frailty testing enables evaluation of the ability to mix food and saliva, and the test gummy jelly used in oral hypofunction testing enables evaluation of the ability to shear food. Both mixing ability and shearing ability are a part of the masticatory performance, and the number of present teeth, occlusal force, tongue pressure, etc affect both abilities; however, the influence of these factors, particularly the number of present teeth, on both the abilities is quite different 28. There were older adults whose shearing ability was decreased, but mixing ability was not.…”

Validation of masticatory function and related factors in maxillectomy patients based on the concept of "oral hypofunction": A retrospective cross-sectional study

“…Declined masticatory function is related to poor nutrition, resulting in poor systemic health conditions and low quality of life [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]20]. Particularly in patients with maxillofacial defects after surgical resection due to oral, head, and neck cancer, it should be the first step to resolve masticatory issues for oral and social rehabilitation [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].…”

“…It has been reported that MOF is strongly related to age, condition of occulsal support [3,27], and prosthetic intervention [9,28]. Although the effect of multicollinearity between these predictor variables, especially age, MOF, and the number of occlusal support, on the statistical results were considered, previous studies also assessed the factors associated with masticatory performance [12][13][14][16][17][18] and showed significant correlations with these factors [12][13][14]17,18]. Accordingly, we decided to use these variables as predictor variables.…”

“…Declined masticatory function has been considered in poor nutritional status, and this must be one of the important areas of concern, especially in the elderly [11]. Previous studies indicated the significance of masticatory function in maintaining the optimal health and quality of life of the elderly [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. It is indisputable that our concerns are not limited to masticatory function because mastication is a complex process involving the activities of the masseter muscles and tongue, rhythmic mandibular movements, the crushing of food between the teeth, and bolus formation with saliva [19].…”