By Dr. Joseph D. Lim
Chewing efficiency affects the quality of life.
This shown in a study, published by dovepress.com, conducted in a nursing home which reflects how impaired chewing impacts on the elderly.
The study was led by Andreas Zenthöfer of the University of Heidelberg, Dental School, Department of Prosthodontics. The co-researchers were colleagues Judith Ehret, Melania Zajac, Jana Kostunov, Peter Rammelsberg, Anna-Luisa Klotz, and Samuel Kilian of the University of Heidelberg’s Institute of Medical Biometry and Informatics.
The researchers sought to evaluate how changes in oral health and chewing efficiency affect the changes in Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) of nursing-home residents over six months.
The OHRQoL is an evaluation of the individual’s oral health, functional well-being, emotional well-being, expectations and satisfaction with care, and sense of self.
The research was conducted in nine nursing homes where sociodemographic and general data were collected for 150 study participants.
Of these, 114 participants were available for tests six months later when comprehensive examination of dental and general health, and chewing efficiency were made.
The Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index to evaluate the OHRQoL, and the Mini Mental State Examination to diagnose the presence and severity of dementia, were conducted.
As a whole, there was a decrease in chewing efficiency and an increase in dental-treatment needs.
A deterioration of denture condition (C: − 2.946; p = 0.003) was the most important predictor for a decline in OHRQoL.
The study concluded that a short-term decline in oral health and function affects the OHRQoL of nursing-home residents.
The oral health of older people who live independently has improved in the last decade. However, the oral health of nursing-home residents has remained inadequate.
Most nursing-home residents have dental or denture-related treatment needs and have missing teeth.
These factors can affect chewing efficiency and have been linked to general health problems, such as an exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases and infectious diseases of the respiratory tract.
However, health is not only defined as the absence of illness; it also consists of an individual’s subjective perception of her or his health, as reflected in the OHRQoL.
The evidence available to nursing-home residents specifically is still limited. In this subgroup of older people, the level of care required by an individual has been observed to affect OHRQoL, as have dental variables (number of teeth, rehabilitation of missing teeth with dentures, denture condition).
Several studies have speculated that these dental variables can affect OHRQoL by causing a reduction in chewing efficiency. However, none of these studies carried out a chewing-efficiency test, and limited information is available regarding the chewing efficiency of nursing-home residents specifically.
This is the first study to conduct a chewing-efficiency test.
As far as the researchers were aware, no study has investigated how changes in oral health and function, including chewing efficiency, affect the OHRQoL of nursing-home residents.
The information would be useful for improving the OHRQoL of nursing-home residents.
The study concluded that OHRQoL among nursing-home residents is inadequate, and the need for dental and denture-related treatments is high.
It is the first study which found that the main causes of declining OHRQoL among nursing-home residents are a deterioration in oral health (more treatment needs and inadequate denture condition) and a decline in oral function (loss of functional occluding pairs).
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515./WDJ