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
. 2024 Dec;41(4):516-525.
doi: 10.1111/ger.12747. Epub 2024 Mar 11.

Dentition and weight status in community-dwelling older adults

Rena Zelig  1   2 , Amy Lyon  1 , Riva Touger-Decker  1   2 , Steven R Singer  2 , Hamed Samavat  1
Affiliations

Dentition and weight status in community-dwelling older adults

Rena Zelig et al. Gerodontology. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Background/objective: Tooth loss is common among older adults and can affect dietary intake and weight status. This study investigated associations between dentition status and body mass index (BMI) in older adults.

Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study of data from a convenience sample of older adults (65-89 years) treated at an urban U.S. dental school clinic. Clinical and demographic data were obtained from electronic health records. Dentition status was determined based on data from odontograms. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of having a non-normal weight status for each measure of dentition status, after adjusting for covariates.

Results: Patients (n = 1765) were 54.1% female, 51.5% White, 41.6% African American and 22.5% Hispanic/Latino. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 71 (67.0-75.0) years; the mean (±SD) BMI was 28.5 (±5.7) kg/m2; 72.5% were overweight or obese. The median (IQR) number of remaining teeth was 20.0 (13.0-24.0); the median numbers of anterior and posterior occluding pairs of teeth were 5.0 (2.0-6.0) and 2.0 (0.0-5.0), respectively; and 44.9% had a functional dentition (≥21 teeth). Having a higher number of remaining teeth and more posterior occluding pairs were associated with lower odds of obesity (OR = 0.980, 95% CI = 0.964, 0.997, p = .022 and OR = 0.931, 95% CI = 0.885, 0.980, p = .006, respectively). Lack of a functional dentition was associated with higher odds of obesity (OR = 1.400, 95% CI = 1.078, 1.818, p = .012), after controlling for covariates.

Conclusion: Older adults with tooth loss - especially loss of posterior occlusion and lack of a functional dentition - were more likely to be obese than of normal weight.

Keywords: ageing; body mass index; geriatrics; nutritional status; occlusion; oral health; tooth loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Oral Health Surveillance Report: Trends in Dental Caries and Sealants, Tooth Retention, and Edentulism, United States, 1999–2004 to 2011–2016. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/publications/OHSR‐2019‐index.html. Accessed November 13, 2023.
    1. National Institutes of Health . Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges. US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research; 2021. https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2021‐12/Oral‐Health‐in‐Ame.... Accessed November 13, 2023.
    1. Dye BA, Weatherspoon DJ, Lopez MG. Tooth loss among older adults according to poverty status in the United States from 1999 through 2004 and 2009 through 2014. J Am Dent Assoc. 2019;150(1):9‐23. doi:10.1016/j.adaj.2018.09.010 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Petersen PE, Kandelman D, Arpin S, Ogawa H. Global oral health of older people–call for public health action. Community Dent Health. 2010;27(4 Suppl 2):257‐267. - PubMed
    1. Thomson WM. The life course and oral health in old age. J R Soc N Z. 2023;54:1‐10. doi:10.1080/03036758.2023.2203933 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources