Dietary intake was poorer in those with hyposalivation than among those without. A decrease in stimulated salivary flow rate could have negative effects on geriatric nutrition.

Oral function, including tongue and lip movements, was associated with physical fitness in older people in this study. Tongue dexterity as characterised by tongue movement from side to side and oral diadochokinesis particularly associated with physical fitness.

No abstract

Purpose: In 2013, we reported the results of a third‐generation oral moisture‐checking device in a multicentre clinical study involving patients with dry mouth and healthy volunteers. Subsequently, several improvements have been made to the third‐generation device, and a fourth‐generation device is now commercially available. This study aimed to confirm the usefulness of this improved fourth‐generation device in the diagnosis of dry mouth and to assess the physiological wetness of lingual mucosa by using this device. Materials and Method: This multicentre study comprised subjects with dry mouth (dry mouth group) and those without dry mouth (healthy group). Results: In this study, the degree of moisture was considerably different between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed an area under the curve value of 0.831. Sensitivity and specificity values were close to 80% in cases where the degree of moisture ≥29.6 was defined as normal, ≤27.9 was defined as dry mouth, and 28.0–29.5 was defined as borderline dry mouth. Conclusions: These results suggest that the improved fourth‐generation moisture‐checking device can be used for the diagnosis of oral dryness.

OHSTNP was reliable and valid for screening natural teeth, denture conditions and oral functions. Supplementary guidelines improved estimates of OHSTNP sensitivity, accuracy and reliability for nurse/caregiver assessment of resident need for dentist referral.