Frailty from an Oral Health Point of View

Frailty commonly affects older persons, increasing their risk for adverse outcomes. Oral health is affected by those conditions related to the mouth and teeth, including caries, periodontal diseases, dysgeusia, presbyphagia and oral cancer among others. Oral health problems can be classified as development defects and acquired problems. These latter are related to infection or trauma, have a cumulative effect throughout life and their consequences are lifelong. Such acquired problems can be classified as primary or secondary, both interacting in a complex manner. Recovery to a previous state of tissue integrity is often impossible from these conditions. These complex interactions have negative impacts on the individual's general health and quality of life. Oral status is an important contributor to general health, and has been linked to several chronic conditions such as cognitive impairment, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, strokes, and cancer. An individual's oral health is mostly stable throughout life. Tooth loss may be considered as the final outcome, resulting as a consequence of history of caries and periodontitis, as well as failure of prevention and treatment. The loss of a tooth may thus represent the first step of a vicious cycle. In fact, without intervention, one missing tooth may lead to further teeth loss, thus reducing the capability to chew and consume nutrients (essential for life and adequate physiological function), and finally contributing to the development of age-related chronic diseases.