Dental Checkups and All-cause Mortality in Older Adults Aged ≥75 Years: A Large Retrospective Cohort Study

Although regular visits to dentists improve oral health status, few studies have reported an association between dental checkups and all-cause mortality in older adults. This 3-year retrospective cohort study aimed to clarify an association between dental checkups and all-cause mortality in older adults.

A total of 946,709 older adults aged ≥75 years, community-based residents in Japan, who were eligible for the public dental checkup program between April 2018 and March 2019. Exposure was dental checkup history stratified by dental visits at dental facilities. An association between dental checkups and the incidence of all-cause mortality was assessed using the Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for clinically relevant factors and the propensity score-matching analysis.

During the median observational period of 35 months, all-cause mortality was observed in 76,566 (20.5%) men and 84,423 (14.7%) women. The multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards model showed that the No checkup groups were at significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality in both men and women, respectively. Propensity score-matching analysis ascertained that the No checkup/No visit group was at significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality than the Checkup/No visit group.

The present large retrospective cohort study of 946,709 older adults showed that dental checkups predicted the risk of all-cause mortality as clinically useful information. The findings of the present study suggest that municipal healthcare planning should recommend dental checkups in older adults.