Regular dental visits may prevent severe functional disability: A community-based prospective study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Dental Public Health

Background:

• Previous research indicates a link between dental visits and outcomes like mortality and functional disability.
• The specific impact of regular dental visits on the onset of functional disability remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the independent association between regular dental visits and the incidence of functional disability in older adults.

Main Methods:

• The study included community-dwelling individuals aged 65 years and older, without baseline disability.
• Functional disability was categorized as none, mild, or severe based on long-term care insurance certification.
• Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the association between regular dental visits and incident disability, adjusting for various covariates.

Main Results:

• The cumulative incidence of mild and severe disability over 33 months was 6.0% and 1.8%, respectively.
• Regular dental visits were significantly associated with a lower risk of incident severe disability (aOR 0.65; 95% CI, 0.46-0.91).
• No significant association was found between regular dental visits and the incidence of mild disability (aOR 0.96; 95% CI, 0.79-1.17).

Conclusions:

• Regular dental visits may play a role in preventing severe functional disability among older adults.
• Promoting dental visits could contribute to extending healthy life expectancy in the elderly population.