Oral functional characteristics and gastrointestinal pathology: an epidemiological approach

Abstract

One of the main problems for aged people is that of having a balanced diet, improved by correct conditioning of the alimentary bolus. Does the masticatory status influence the appearance of gastrointestinal disorders? Such a question justifies the present study. The present work concerned all the patients (211) of eight geriatric institutions, and was completed by a retrospective approach (case-control study). The main result brought by the case-control study, showed that poor oral functional characteristics represent a risk for gastrointestinal pathology (age being neutralized; odds ratio (OR): 2.62). This result indicates that the loss of teeth must be compensated by functionally effective dentures. Not only will the patients' physical and psychic health improve but also medical and public health problems will be solved.

Oral health status in a group of the elderly population residing at home

“…Moreover, as the number of natural teeth increases, so does the chewing function perceived by the individual. Again in 2001, another study carried out by Tosello et al 28 stated that the risk of developing gastrointestinal pathologies was significantly higher among patients with chewing dysfunction than among those who had natural teeth. Researchers concluded that chewing dysfunction leads to consumption of semi-soft or soft foodstuffs or in other words low-fibre content food.…”

“…Furthermore, most people lose height as vertebrae and discs compress with age. The internationally agreed threshold of acceptable BMI [20][21][22][23][24][25] , underweight (<20), overweight [25][26][27][28][29][30] , and obese (>30) was adopted. Data entry and all calculations were made with the software package SPSS version 15.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).…”

“…Advanced age, low socio-economic level, poor living conditions and female gender are reported to correlate with tooth loss [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] . Tooth loss is reported to have a significant impact on food preferences and to cause malnutrition among older persons [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] . However, it is still controversial whether or not the body mass index (BMI) is affected in the individuals suffering from chewing dysfunction due to tooth loss.…”

Malocclusion, Mastication and the Gastrointestinal System

“…Brodeur et al [12] and Tosello et al [88] repeatedly studied the correlation between edentulism and gastrointes- [53].…”

“…tinal diseases. In a Canadian study of seniors wearing dentures, 47% exhibited reduced masticatory efficiency [12,88]. These subjects were more apt to take medications for gastrointestinal disorders (such as antacids and antidiarrheal drugs) (37%) than those with better masticatory efficiency (20%).…”