Oral mixing ability and cognition in elderly persons with dementia: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Masticatory performance has been positively associated with cognitive ability in both animals and healthy humans. We hypothesised that there would also be a positive correlation between masticatory performance and cognition in older persons suffering from dementia. Older persons suffering from dementia (n = 114) and receiving institutionalised care were studied in a cross-sectional design. The assessments included masticatory performance, which was measured objectively with a two-colour gum mixing ability test, and cognition, which was assessed with a multidomain neuropsychological test battery. Significant relationships were observed between masticatory performance and general cognition and between masticatory performance and verbal fluency. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the correlation with general cognition was influenced by the scores for dependency in activities of daily living. The association between verbal fluency and masticatory performance was not significantly affected by secondary variables. An unexpected limitation of this study was the high dropout rate for the mixing ability test. The clinical implications of these findings are profound; care professionals should endeavour to maintain and stimulate mastication in older persons with dementia in an attempt to preserve cognition.

The effects of prosthetic status and dementia on the chewing efficiency of seniors in nursing homes

“…This chewing efficiency is worse than that reported by Silva et al, who recorded a mean variance of hue of approximately .54. 35 Furthermore, dementia specifically seems to negatively affect the chewing efficiency of seniors, [9][10][11][12][13] which is in agreement with the results of this recent study. In contrast to the original publication by Schimmel et al 2007, 16 those studies used chewing gums of the company Ivoclar Vivadent (Schaan, Liechtenstein).…”

“…33 The deviation in hue values compared to our study might be explained due to the use of different types of chewing gums. 9,15 The authors speculate that these factors may affect learning and memory performance. However, for our study the same chewing gum as used in the original publication was provided.…”

“…In contrast to the original publication by Schimmel et al 2007, 16 those studies used chewing gums of the company Ivoclar Vivadent (Schaan, Liechtenstein). 9,14,15 Most studies investigating the relationship between chewing efficiency and dementia have not, however, encompassed a dental examination that includes type of denture, number of teeth and number of functional occluding pairs. Another reason for the differences might be because the participants were selected from a nursing home caring for very old seniors with a high incidence of dementia (CDR > 0).…”

“…[8][9][10][11][12][13] Mastication simulates the neuronal activity in cerebral cortex and may be helpful in preventing degradation of brain function. [8][9][10][11][12][13] Mastication simulates the neuronal activity in cerebral cortex and may be helpful in preventing degradation of brain function.…”

Health and quality of life differ between community living older people with and without remaining teeth who recently received formal home care: a cross sectional study

“…This seems surprising, as poor oral health is assumed to be a health risk [7–16]. The reasons for this apparently paradoxical finding are unclear.…”