Influence of the Food Intake Ability and the Number of Remaining Teeth on Oral Health Related Quality of Life in Some Elderly People

Abstract

Eating supports to gain energy and nutrition and improves quality of life. Ageing affects the food intake ability due to loss of natural teeth and the progressive muscle degeneration. Our objective was to investigate how the food intake ability (FIA) and the remaining teeth could influence on oral health related quality of life in the elderly. This study was performed with 503 elderly subjects living in Daejeon, Korea. The questionnaire with the FIA with 30 Korean food and Oral Health Impact Profile 14 (OHIP-14) and oral examination were surveyed. The five groups according to cluster analysis of FIA had the different numbers of remaining teeth and functional posterior teeth with opposing teeth or prosthesis significantly: group 1, 21.78±8.27 and 2.80±2.63; group 2, 16.75±7.87 and 2.16±2.44; group 3, 14.68±9.77 and 1.73±2.30; group 4, 9.93±8.13 and 0.78±1.68; group 5, 10.18±8.37 and 0.51±1.22. The more foods the subjects could masticate, the better oral health related quality of life they had. The medium FIA, soft FIA and the number of remaining teeth could explain 46% of OHIP-14, but hard FIA could not in the multiple regression model. We suggested to develop the oral health program for the elderly to be able to eat the food with medium physical property at least be helpful to improve oral health related quality of life.

Improvement of chewing and swallowing risks in community-dwelling older adults using texture-modified food

“…All participants in our study had an average of >26 of 32 permanent teeth. This number is relatively high for older adults aged 65–85 years, considering that a recent cross-sectional survey [ 35 ] reported that the average number of teeth required to eat all kinds of food was at least 20. Additionally, a US survey conducted among individuals aged 65–69 years found that the participants had only 18 teeth remaining on average [ 36 ].…”

Development of an Abalone 3D Food Printing Ink for the Personalized Senior-Friendly Foods

“…In Korea, the senior population is growing quickly as a result of declining birth rates and rising life expectancy; in 2020, it was 15.8%, and by 2060, it is expected to rise to 43.9% [ 1 ]. Physical changes due to aging include loss of natural teeth, weakening of coordination of body movements, and weakening of mastication muscles [ 2 ]. As a result, symptoms, such as poor appetite, decreased chewing, and swallowing function lead to nutritional imbalance.…”