Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr;26(4):3477-3486.
doi: 10.1007/s00784-021-04316-6. Epub 2021 Nov 30.

Sociomedical and oral factors affecting masticatory performance in an older population

Andrianna Bousiou  1 , Kalliopi Konstantopoulou  1 , Argy Polychronopoulou  2 , Demetrios J Halazonetis  3 , Martin Schimmel  4   5 , Anastassia E Kossioni  6
Affiliations

Sociomedical and oral factors affecting masticatory performance in an older population

Andrianna Bousiou et al. Clin Oral Investig. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the sociomedical and oral factors affecting masticatory performance in a community-dwelling older population.

Materials and methods: Community-dwelling persons over 60 years were investigated using medical and dental oral interviews, oral and denture examination (natural teeth, tooth mobility, number of occluding tooth pairs, and removable dentures' prevalence and quality), and evaluation of masticatory performance using a mixing ability test.

Results: A total of 130 participants with a mean age of 73.9±8.5 years were recorded. Fifty-eight (44.6%) used various types of removable prostheses. Twenty were edentulous and used a pair of complete dentures. Univariate analyses revealed statistically significant associations (p≤0.05) between masticatory performance and aging, marital status, subjective chewing ability, use of removable dentures, use of various combinations of complete dentures, pain caused by maxillary denture, number of teeth, tooth mobility, posterior chewing pairs, all chewing contacts natural or prosthetic, retention of mandibular partial dentures, and dentures' occlusion. The multivariable quantile regression analysis revealed that fewer natural teeth (95% CI: -0.02-0.01, p<0.001), being edentulous and using a pair of complete dentures (95% CI: 0.09-0.35, p=0.001), and larger percentage of severely mobile teeth (95% CI: 0.07-0.82, p=0.020) were associated with lower masticatory performance.

Conclusions: Poor masticatory performance in older adults was associated with fewer teeth, being edentulous and using a pair of complete dentures, and increased prevalence of severe tooth mobility.

Clinical relevance: Retaining the natural dentition and preventing and treating periodontal disease are important measures to maintain masticatory performance in older adults.

Keywords: Dentures; Masticatory performance; Older adults; Oral health; Tooth loss; Tooth mobility.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Peyron MA, Woda A, Bourdiol P, Hennequin M (2017) Age-related changes in mastication. J Oral Rehabil 44:299–312. https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.12478 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Laguna L, Chen J (2016) The eating capability: constituents and assessments. Food Qual Prefer 48:345–358. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12219 - DOI
    1. Pereira LJ, Duarte Gaviao MB, Van Der Bilt A (2006) Influence of oral characteristics and food products on masticatory function. Acta Odontol Scand 64:193–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/00016350600703459 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gonçalves TMSV, Schimmel M, van der Bilt A, Chen J, van der Glas HW, Kohyama K, Hennequin M, Peyron MA, Woda A, Leles CR, José Pereira L (2021) Consensus on the terminologies and methodologies for masticatory assessment. J Oral Rehabil. https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.13161 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. van der Bilt A (2011) Assessment of mastication with implications for oral rehabilitation: a review. J Oral Rehabil 38:754–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2842.2010.02197.x - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources