Abstract
This study aimed to determine the association between the number of existing teeth (NET) and socioeconomic status (SES), oral health-related behaviours, and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults aged 55–79 years. The study included 3255 adults who underwent oral health examinations and answered questionnaires regarding SES, oral health-related behaviours, and metabolic diseases in the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2015). The dependent variable was the binary status based on the median NET in each age group. The independent variables were based on SES, oral health-related behaviours, and the presence of metabolic syndrome. The study findings showed that the factors associated with the NET were sex, household income, education level, region of residence, daily toothbrushing frequency, dental visit within 1 year, smoking, and metabolic syndrome. NET was lower in males (adjusted OR: 0.74), in low household income group (adjusted OR: 0.77), in primary school graduates (adjusted OR: 0.53) and in rural residents (adjusted OR: 0.78). The interventions aimed at preserving existing teeth in elderly population should consider their SES, oral health-related behaviours, and metabolic syndrome and overhauling current oral healthcare system and redefining the roles of oral health professionals.
Highlights
Tooth loss reduces an individual’s chewing ability, leading to reduced food intake and poor nutrition, which can increase the risk of disease development [1,2]
6948 subjects participated in the oral examinations, of which 3255 subjects responded to all questionnaires on demographic and socioeconomic status and oral health behaviours
This study examined the association between systemic conditions like metabolic syndrome and the number of existing teeth in model 3
Summary
Tooth loss reduces an individual’s chewing ability, leading to reduced food intake and poor nutrition, which can increase the risk of disease development [1,2]. The expenditure incurred as a result of tooth loss was the highest among the top ten diseases in the Korean National Health Insurance for outpatients in 2017 [4]. In Korea, removable complete and partial dentures and dental implant services for the elderly population aged 65+ years are provided by Korean National Health Insurance. The average number of teeth present in adults is 24.1 in the population aged 55–59 years, 22.4 in those aged 60–64 years, 19.4 in those aged 65–69 years, 16.8 in those aged 70–74 years, 13.6 in those aged 75–79 years, and 11.3 in those aged 80–84 years. The number of existing teeth decreases with age [5]. In order to maintain a sufficient number of teeth in older individuals, it is necessary to
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