Oral function status of older patients seeking dental implant treatment

Purpose: In recent years, dental implant treatment has become an option for prosthetic treatment for missing teeth and is often performed in older patients. However, the complex oral functional decline in old age presents challenges in terms of frailty prevention, making oral function management after prosthetic treatment crucial. Nonetheless, the actual status of oral function in older patients seeking dental implant treatment remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess the oral function status of older patients seeking dental implant treatment.

Methods: Among patients receiving prosthetic treatment for missing teeth, 227 older patients (111 in the pre-dental implant group and 116 in the pre-bridge/denture group) who underwent a thorough examination of their oral function were included in this study. Age, sex, comorbidities, smoking status, number of functional teeth, and occlusal support status were obtained from the medical records. Statistical analyses were performed using the t-test, chi-square test, and logistic regression (p < 0.05).

Results: Compared with the pre-bridge/denture group, the pre-dental implant group had significantly better oral hygiene, occlusal force, tongue-lip motor function, tongue pressure, masticatory function, and swallowing function and a significantly lower prevalence of oral hypofunction. Older age and decreased occlusal support were associated with the diagnosis of oral hypofunction, even after adjusting for confounding factors including prosthetic treatment.

Conclusions: Although older patients seeking dental implant treatment have a higher oral function than those seeking general prosthetic treatment, older age and a lower number of occlusal supports suggest that appropriate oral function management is needed.