Objectives: Recent studies have investigated the relationship between cognitive function, oral health related quality of life and chewing ability. However, the results of those studies are not consistent. This purpose of this study was to investigate the chewing ability Koreans aged 65 years or older living within a metropolitan city and evaluate the relationship between chewing ability cognitive function and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) by 12 month follow up study.
Methods: A total of 255 participants aged 65 and over who attended a senior citizen center were recruited for the study with their consent. The final participants of the 12 month follow up was 126 patients, and it was classified as gum chewing experimental group and not chewing gum control group. The Korean version of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE-DS) was used to assess cognitive function, masticatory ability was measured by questionary as perceived masticatory function, number of remaining teeth and masticatory performance evaluating gum. The Geriatric Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and oral health impact profile (OHIP-14) questionnaires were used to assess OHRQoL. All collected data were analyzed by the χ2 test, t-test, and one-way ANOVA using SPSS version 23.0 for windows.
Results: There was a significant association between chewing ability and OHRQoL (P<0.05). The participants with good chewing ability had a greater MMSE-DS score. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between cognitive function and when chewing for 12 month, chewing ability improved significantly.
Conclusions: These results suggest that oral condition can affect chewing ability and this phenomenon indirectly related with dementia. Active national based policies to improve oral health condition such as preserve remaining teeth and increasing masticatory function in elderly should be needed.