Background Previous studies have indicated an association between oral hypofunction and frailty in community-dwelling older adults. However, this issue has not been evaluated in institutionalized older patients. We aimed to determine the prevalence of physical frailty in this particularly vulnerable group and evaluate its association with oral hypofunction, analyzing possible differences by gender. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in private and public care homes in Guayaquil (Ecuador) from January 2018 until December 2019. Participants were classified as robust, pre-frail, and frail according to the Fried's frailty phenotype. Oral hypofunction was defined as the presence of at least three positive items in the following list: poor oral hygiene, oral dryness, reduced occlusal force, decreased masticatory function, and deterioration of swallowing function. The relationships between frailty and oral hypofunction were analyzed using logistic regression models for the whole sample and stratified by gender. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA 15.0 software (Stata Corp. LP, College Station, TX, USA). Results Among the 589 participants analyzed (65% women), the median age was 72 years (interquartile range: 66–82). Pre-frailty and frailty were presented in 66.7% and 28.9% of them respectively. Weakness was the most frequent item (84.6%). There was a significant relationship between frailty and oral hypofunction in women. In the overall sample, the frequency of frailty was 2.06 times higher (95% CI 1.30–3.29) in patients with oral hypofunction, and this association was maintained in women (ORa: 2.18; 95% CI 1.21–3.94). Reduced occlusal force and decreased swallowing function were items significantly associated with the presence of frailty (ORa: 1.95; 95% CI 1.18–3.22 and ORa: 2.11; 95% CI 1.39–3.19, respectively). Conclusion The prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty was high among institutionalized older people and was associated with the presence of hypofunction, especially in women. Decreased swallowing function was the most strongly item associated with frailty.

Objective This systematic review aimed to highlight the usefulness of the clinical examination of the oral cavity for the diagnostic suspicion of anorexia (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), being of main interest to the paediatric dentist and paediatrician due to the early onset of symptoms in Eating Disorders (EDs). Method A systematic search, applying PICO question, was carried out in biomedical and other electronic databases from 2005 to 2020. Both case reports and case series of patients under 65 years of age with AN and BN were included. Data were extracted and statistically analysed. Results A sample of 111 studies was obtained (n = 192; 92.78% female). The most prevalent diagnosis was restrictive type AN (n = 110; 57.29%). Only 16 (8.33%) patients had been clinically examined at the oral cavity, indicating the presence or absence of oral manifestations (OM) and showing dental erosion (n = 10) as the most frequent. Conclusion There is a lack of information about the oral examination of anorexic and bulimic patients. Dental erosion and other oral manifestations can help us to make an early ED diagnosis. Clinical observation and basic erosive wear examination (BEWE) Index are necessary steps to detect and record any anomaly in oral cavity during the evaluation of these patients.