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Natural teeth and cognitive function in humans.

Maud Bergdahl¹, Reza Habib, Jan Bergdahl

¹Institute of Clinical Dentistry, University of Tromsø, Norway. maud.bergdahl@fagmed.uit.no

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology

|November 22, 2007

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Maintaining natural teeth is linked to better cognitive function in older adults. This study found that even after matching for various factors, individuals with natural teeth performed better on cognitive tests compared to those who were edentulous.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Gerontology
Dental Medicine

Background:

Cognitive impairment is influenced by neurobiological, psychological, and social factors.
Animal studies suggest a link between dental status and cognitive performance.
The relationship between dental status and cognitive function in humans is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the association between dental status (natural teeth vs. edentulous) and cognitive performance in humans.
To determine if the observed relationship persists after controlling for confounding variables.

Main Methods:

Cross-sectional comparison of 1,351 participants with natural teeth and 487 edentulous participants on 12 cognitive tests.
Subsequent analysis of a matched subset (211 natural dentition, 188 edentulous) aged 50-85, controlling for gender, age, social factors, diseases, stress, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores.

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Main Results:

The natural teeth group, despite being younger, had higher education and MMSE scores, and performed significantly better on several cognitive tests.
Even in the matched subset, the edentulous group exhibited a cognitive disadvantage.
The association between having natural teeth and better cognitive functioning remained apparent after controlling for confounders.

Conclusions:

Functional natural teeth appear to be related to relatively preserved cognitive functioning in older age.
The findings suggest a potential link between oral health and cognitive health in humans.
Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this association.