The Relationship Between Chewing Ability and Health Status in the Long-lived Elderly of Kyungpook Area

Background: The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of the dental and general health in relation to the state of dentition and chewing ability by surveying oral condition and anthropometric measure in order to provide primary statistics for the development of a program which may lead to an improvement in the long-lived elderly health status in a rural community. Materials and Methods: The subjects of this study were 97 rural long-lived elderly(27 males and 70 females) who were over 85 years-old (average age of subjects are year old) in Sungju-Gun, Kyungpook Province. Data were collected by using questionnaires and direct measurement of anthropometrics, and oral examination from all 97 subjects on July, 1999. Results: The following results were obtained: 1. 53.6% of all subjects believe that they are healthy. The average values of height, weight, BMI, body fat, lean body fat and total water were , , , , , and , respectively. 2. The average number of teeth remaining in the subjects were ; the number of maxillary teeth remaining were ; and the number of mandibular teeth remaining were . The maximum number of teeth remaining among subjects were 22 teeth, and the fully edentulous(no natural teeth) people were 76.3%. The oral conditions of the subjects were 52.6% using denture, 23.7% using natural teeth, and 23.7% masticating edentulous ridge without denture. 3. In terms of oral condition in self-assessment of health, digestive ability, and chewing ability ; On self-assessment of health, 47.1% of those wearing denture group responded as feeling good, 56.5% of those in the group of edentulous without denture, and 65.2% in group of natural teeth only. On self-assessment of digestive ability, 82.4% of those in group of denture responded as feeling good, 65.2% of those in group of no teeth and no denture, and 73.9% of those in group of natural teeth only. On self-assessment of chewing ability, 90.2% of those in the group wearing a denture, 60. 9% of those in the group of no teeth and no denture, and 65.2% of those in the group of natural teeth only. 4. In terms of oral condition in anthropometric measurements; The height, weight, body fat, lean body mass, and total water according to oral conditions were , , , , , respectively, in group wearing a denture, , , , , , respectively, in the group of no teeth and no denture, and , , , , , respectively, in the group of natural teeth only. Conclusion: The subjective measurements of good health were higher denture user, and natural teeth.