The effects of denture status on nutrition

In Part I of this study, the Human Nutrition Research Center of the United States Department of Agriculture's Nutritional Status Study (NSS) of 691 independently living elderly people aged 60-98 found that poor dietary quality was associated with low educational attainment, low median family income, and self-report of partial or full dentures. In Part II, further analysis was conducted on a random subsample of 181 subjects who were examined and divided into four groups according to dentate status: two dentures, one denture, partial dentures, and teeth. In this subgroup, significant correlations were found between the quality of nutrient intake and the degree of edentulousness. Analysis of 53 nutrients plus calories from three-day food records showed a significantly higher nutritional quality of the diet in dentate volunteers than in the other groups. This difference was approximately 20% for 19 nutrients, bringing some nutrients (such as calcium) below the RDA for this age group. Although direct correlations cannot be made with actual nutritional status, the introduction of dentures could further compromise the precarious nutritional intake of the elderly population. With this in mind, dentists need to consider carefully the importance of their elderly patients maintaining at least some natural dentition and should provide adequate information on nutritional adaptations to dentures.