Source: Genomics  |  Posted 9 years ago

Dental health shows a close association with nutritional status in adults aged 50 years or more, suggesting that dentition status should be considered when providing nutritional counselling and assessment for older adults.

This recommendation comes from investigators from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, and the Boston University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Dentition status was assessed by determining the number of posterior occluding pairs of teeth and by denture status. Nutrient intake, Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score, serum values and body mass index were used to assess nutritional status. Data from 5,958 individuals aged 50 or more years were included in the study.

Results showed that individuals with no posterior occluding pairs, one to four pairs or complete dentures had consistently lower scores on the HEI than individuals with five to eight posterior occluding pairs of teeth.

Those with impaired dentition also ate fewer servings of fruit and had lower serum values of beta carotene and ascorbic acid.

Body mass index was higher in individuals with one to four posterior occluding pairs of teeth compared with those with five or more pairs.

Dietary intake levels of vitamin A, carotene, folic acid and vitamin C were poorer in individuals with impaired dentition, as were HEI scores for diet variety, cholesterol and sodium.