Perceptions about the Relationship between Oral Health and Digestion: A Qualitative Study Relationship between Oral Health and Digestion

Abstract

Tooth loss can be closely associated with malnutrition and the risk of systemic diseases. This study evaluated the perceptions of patients with gastrointestinal diseases about the importance of teeth and their relationship with gastroenterological conditions. A total of 14 patients with gastrointestinal diseases were included to answer a script with 12 questions (qualitative study). The responses were transcribed and analyzed using Fernando Lefèvre’s methodological approach: “Discourse of the collective subject”. 71.42% (n= 9) of the volunteers felt some discomfort/pain when eating caused by problems with their mouth/prosthesis, and 28.57% (n= 3) responded that they were unable to eat any food they wanted due to problems with their mouth or limbs Teeth. The results show that only 28.57% (n=3) associate the loss of teeth with worsening chewing and digestion capacity. It can be concluded that most patients do not understand the association between tooth loss and the digestion process, causing gastroenterological alterations.