ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CHEWING ABILITY AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION AMONG OLDER PATIENTS
Received 2024-03-01; Accepted 2024-03-29; Published 2024-03-29
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22452/jummec.sp2024no1.28Abstract
Tooth loss is commonly linked to reduced chewing ability and cognitive function among the older population. This study aimed to assess the association between masticatory ability and cognitive function among older patients in one of the public university dental clinic in Kuala Lumpur. A cross-sectional study was performed on 76 dental patients aged over 60 years who received treatment in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Dental examination was performed to assess the respondents’ dental status, namely the number of teeth present and their denture status. Masticatory ability of the respondents was assessed with Masticatory Performance Evaluating Chewing Gum (XYLITOL®; Lotte Co., Ltd., Saitama, Japan). The color-changeable chewing gum was categorized into five levels. Darker pink color showed higher chewing ability while yellow implied poorer score. Based on the colour, a score of 1 to 5 points was given. Cognitive status was measured with the 13-items Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaire. The scores ranged between 0 to 30. A score of 23 or below was accepted cutoff point indicating the presence of cognitive impairment. The mean number of remaining teeth was 11.6 ± 10.24, with 30.3% having total tooth loss. The mean chewing score was 3.37 ± 1.41. About 46.1% of respondents were classified as poor chewers, and 53.9% were good chewers. Older people who had fewer teeth and decreased chewing performance had significantly reduced MMSE scores. The MMSE score was significantly correlated with the number of teeth present (r=0.331; p<0.05) and masticatory ability (r=0.594; p<0.05). It is suggested that having an optimal number of teeth in the oral cavity for good masticatory function is important to good cognitive functioning. In addition, long-term studies are required to investigate the relationship between the role of masticatory ability on cognition especially among older population.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
All authors agree that the article, if editorially accepted for publication, shall be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 to allow others to freely access, copy and use research provided the author is correctly attributed, unless otherwise stated. All articles are available online without charge or other barriers to access. However, anyone wishing to reproduce large quantities of an article (250+) should inform the publisher. Any opinion expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not reflect that of the University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.