Denture Wearing and Malnutrition Risk Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Most studies have associated denture wearing with a higher risk of malnutrition and lower nutritional intake in the elderly. As the effect of wearing dentures remains debatable, the aim of this study was to determine if older adults wearing dentures have a higher risk of malnutrition. We recruited 294 Japanese community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years from two elderly welfare centers in Sapporo. The Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) was used to assess their nutritional status. Their demographic characteristics, eating habits, and health status were assessed using a questionnaire. Moreover, salt-impregnated taste paper and bioelectrical impedance analysis were used to obtain salt taste sensitivity and body composition (body mass index and protein mass). The mean age of older adults was 75.8 ± 5.8 years and 71.1% were women. We found that 74.1% of the older adults wore dentures. The proportion of the whole population with a risk of malnutrition was 23.5%. Multivariate analysis revealed that partial denture wearing could be protective against the risk of malnutrition. In this study, we found more partial denture wearers with normal nutritional conditions and cooking by themselves than non-denture-wearing older adults. Furthermore, complete denture wearers were eating significantly less meats or fish every day. This study suggests that using partial dentures to replace the lost teeth to meet the dietary needs of the elderly is critical to maintaining a healthy nutritional status. Moreover, it also indicates the importance of providing education to older adults who wear complete dentures.

Bite Force in Elderly with Full Natural Dentition and Different Rehabilitation Prosthesis

“…The improvement of maximum bite force and chewing efficiency may be an important prerequisite for adequate nutrition. The problem of malnutrition has been highlighted recently in some articles that explain how the elderly become malnourished due to problems also related to prosthesis [ 5 , 33 ]. It is clear that these patients require special attention from a nutritionist in order to be able to eat properly.…”

“…This type of diet results in malnutrition and increased risk of frailty development. Some studies [ 5 , 6 ] showed a relation between teeth loss and body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat based on height and weight. In addition, such food regimes may favor the insurgence of diabetes and other metabolic diseases.…”

“…Possible causes are the reabsorption and atrophy of alveolar ridge of edentulous alveolus due to teeth loss. Moreover, CD wearers claim a reduced taste and texture sensation due to the complete covering of the palate [ 5 ].…”

Indicators of Absolute and Relative Changes in Skeletal Muscle Mass during Adulthood and Ageing

“…PM is a building block of skeletal muscles and other cells, which directly depends on nutrition (or malnutrition) and adaptation to physical activity (or hypokinesia). Both nutrition and physical activity initiate the synthesis of proteins, whereby the type of nutrition and physical activity or exercise define weather PM will increase or remain the same [ 27 , 45 , 46 ]. However, because PM is an integral part of body composition and can remain the same even if the body composition changes (i.e., body fat increases), its relative (%) amount seems more valid for comparison between adults of different age.…”

Association between Sucrose Intake in Coke and Root or Coronal Caries among Teenagers

“…As per earlier literature available, intake of fruit, vitamins, dietary fibre, vegetable, and minerals are associated with dentation. It was found that individuals wearing dentures face difficulties in eating and thus been able to consume important nutrients as they have less food choices 2,3 . Dairy products such as milk and products made of milk are found to be linked to plays a preventive role in development of dental caries as higher level of calcium and protein is present in milk 4 .…”