Infrequent Denture Cleaning Increased the Risk of Pneumonia among Community-dwelling Older Adults: A Population-based Cross-sectional Study

Sci Rep. 2019 Sep 24;9(1):13734. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-50129-9.

Abstract

Pneumonia is a leading cause of death among older adults. The effectiveness of oral care in preventing pneumonia in nursing homes and hospitals has been reported. However, in community-dwelling older adults, the role of denture cleaning in preventing pneumonia remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the association between infrequent denture cleaning and the risk of pneumonia in community-dwelling older adults. This cross-sectional study was based on the self-reported questionnaire targeting towards community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years. Responses of 71,227 removable full/partial denture users were included. The incidence of pneumonia within the last one-year and the frequency of denture cleaning (daily/non-daily) were treated as dependent and independent variables, respectively. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated by the inverse probability weighting (IPW) method based on the logistic regression model. The mean age of the participants was 75.2 ± 6.5 years; 48.3% were male. Overall, 4.6% of the participants did not clean their dentures daily; 2.3% and 3.0% who did and did not clean their dentures daily, respectively, experienced pneumonia. After IPW, infrequent denture cleaning was significantly associated with pneumonia incidence (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.01-1.68)). This study suggests that denture cleaning could prevent pneumonia among community-dwelling older adults.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Denture, Complete
  • Denture, Partial, Removable
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Independent Living
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Oral Health
  • Oral Hygiene / methods
  • Pneumonia / etiology*
  • Risk
  • Surveys and Questionnaires