Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Oral Health Symptoms and Cognitive Function Among US Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults
Darina V Petrovsky1, Bei Wu1,2, Weiyu Mao3
1New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York, New York.
Background/Objectives:
Limited research is available on the relationship between oral health symptoms and cognitive function among community-dwelling US Chinese older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between tooth/gum symptoms and changes in cognitive function.
Design:
Two-wave epidemiological study.
Setting:
Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE).
Participants:
US Chinese older adults (N = 2713; mean age = 72.6 y; 58.4% women).
Measurements:
We selected self-reported oral (tooth and gum) symptoms as independent variables. To examine changes in cognitive function (wave 2: Baseline), we chose the following three domains: episodic memory (East Boston Memory Test); executive function (Symbol Digit Modalities Test); and working memory (Digit Span Backwards). In addition, we assessed global cognitive function by constructing a composite measure.
Results:
At baseline, 1297 participants (47.8%) reported having teeth symptoms, and 513 participants (18.9%) reported having gum symptoms. Adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, participants who reported having teeth symptoms at baseline experienced their global cognition decrease by 0.07 units (estimate = -0.07; p = .003) and their episodic memory decrease by 0.07 units (estimate = -0.07; p = .026). Participants who reported having teeth symptoms at baseline experienced a faster rate of decline in global cognition for every additional year (estimate = 0.02; p = .047). However, this effect disappeared once we adjusted for all covariates (estimate = 0.02; p = .069). We found no significant relationship between baseline gum symptoms and change of cognitive function.
Conclusion:
Having teeth symptoms was associated with a decline in cognitive function among US Chinese older adults. Developing policy measures aimed at ameliorating health and improving cognition in this high-risk fast-growing population in the United States would need to include oral health preventive and dental care services. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:S532-S537, 2019.
Related Concept Videos
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
What are Populations and Communities?
Cognitive Dissonance
Diabetes: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Complications
Oral Cavity
Teeth: The teeth are the hardest structures in our bodies. Humans have two sets of teeth throughout their lifetime: deciduous (baby) teeth and permanent teeth. Each tooth consists of several parts: the crown (visible part), the root (embedded in the jaw), enamel (hard outer...

