Factors associated with self‐assessed oral health in the Japanese independent elderly

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyse the relationship between oral health status, oral motor function, daily life situations and self-assessed oral health. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 190 independent elderly volunteers aged 62-99 years from senior citizen centres in Tokyo, Japan. A questionnaire survey and oral examination were conducted on each participant. For the descriptive analyses, Independent t-test and the chi-squared test were used. Following that, using four latent variables, (oral health, oral function, daily life situations and chronic health condition), a structural equation modelling analysis (SEMA) was undertaken. In the descriptive analyses, there were no significant differences between self-assessed oral health and oral health status. However, there were significant differences between self-assessed oral health and oral function and daily life situations. Findings from SEMA revealed that daily life situations and oral function have independent effects on self-assessed oral health and that the relationship between self-assessed oral health and oral health status was weak. Many factors affect self-assessed oral health status. Dental clinicians and researchers should attempt to understand these factors and incorporate them into effective personal and population-based oral health education and oral health promotion programmes.