Age-Related Physiological and Pathophysiological Features of the Masticatory Apparatus in Adults

Abstract

Age-related physiological and pathophysiological features of the masticatory apparatus were studied via electrodontometry, estesiometry, electrogustometry, and the determination of thresholds and functional mobility of taste receptors of the tongue. The study was based on an evaluation of the condition of organs and tissues of the masticatory apparatus in 275 (69 men and 206 women) individuals aged from 25 to 86 years, including 74 elderly and senile individuals suffering from diabetes mellitus type 2, chronic nonspecific inflammatory bowel diseases, alcoholism, and chronic kidney disease. It was found that the thresholds of pain sensitivity of teeth, oral mucosa, and the tongue and taste sensitivity increase with age, while the functional mobility of taste receptors becomes impaired. The presence in elderly and senile individuals of psychosomatic pathology, especially type-2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and chronic alcoholism in older age groups, exacerbates existing age-related changes in pain and taste sensitivity and leads to severe disorders in the directed response of taste receptors. The indicators presented in this paper, which characterize some age-related physiological and pathophysiological features of the masticatory apparatus in elderly and senile individuals, can be used as a starting point to study the degree of functional disorders of the masticatory apparatus and to take into account the degree of normalization of impaired functions in the treatment of individuals of older age groups.