Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Dentistry News and Guidelines
  • Dentistry News
  • Maintaining good oral...

Maintaining good oral health can improve subjective psychological well-being in older adults: Study

Written By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2024-02-06T02:15:41+05:30  |  Updated On 6 Feb 2024 2:15 AM IST
Maintaining good oral health can improve subjective psychological well-being in older adults: Study
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

Japan: A recent study published in PLOS One revealed that oral health influences subjective well-being in older adults through its effects on nutritional status and the individual’s environment.

Therefore, the researchers suggest that maintaining good oral health can help improve nutritional status, which in turn, can improve subjective psychological well-being.

In humans, oral health influences general health and well-being in many ways. Other than reducing the need for oral rehabilitation later in life, maintaining good oral health reduces the risk of several systemic diseases. Therefore, investing time and effort into improving oral health can be highly beneficial for older adults. However, whether the health benefits of improved oral health extend to psychological domains remains unclear.

Positive psychological well-being is known to positively affect the survival rates of both healthy and unhealthy populations. Thus, to increase life expectancy, it is important to identify the factors associated with subjective well-being. This involves the evaluation of the quality of life, which includes life satisfaction, interests, and happiness.

Now, a team of researchers led by Senior Assistant Professor Noriko Takeuchi from the Department of Preventive Dentistry, Okayama University Hospital, found that oral health influences subjective well-being in older adults through its effects on nutritional status and the individual’s environment. Additionally, Dr. Daisuke Ekuni from the Department of Preventive Dentistry, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Dr. Nanami Sawada from the Department of Preventive Dentistry, Okayama University Hospital, and Dr. Manabu Morita from the Department of Oral Health, Takarazuka University of Medical and Health Care were involved in the research and served as co-authors in this study.

To arrive at their findings, the team examined oral conditions such as bacterial load in the tongue coating, chewing ability, swallowing ability, and more, among older adults visiting a dental clinic in Okayama University Hospital, and examined how these measurements are related to participants’ self-reported psychological well-being. They also measured participants’ nutritional status and environmental characteristics including social connections, habits, and medical history.

“The scientific evidence for the relationship between oral health and psychological well-being is limited. To overcome the limitations of the previous studies and as a step toward health promotion, we evaluated the association between individual and environmental characteristics, oral condition, and nutritional status concerning subjective well-being among older adults,” explains Dr. Takeuchi while describing the motivation of this study.

The findings of the study revealed that oral condition is related to nutritional status, which in turn, is related to subjective well-being among older adults. Oral condition plays a significant role in determining the types of food that a person can consume. Therefore, an individual’s oral condition may influence nutritional intake, thus influencing their health status. “Maintaining good oral health can help improve nutritional status, which in turn, can improve subjective psychological well-being,” says Dr. Takeuchi.

In addition, this study provides evidence for a bidirectional connection between oral health and a person’s individual and social environment. This connection can be explained by the fact that poor social relations are associated with psychological stress leading to habits such as smoking and sweet consumption, thereby increasing the risk of cavities, gum disease, and tooth loss. Moreover, it reports a connection between a person’s environmental characteristics and nutritional status. Overall, the findings suggest that oral health may not directly influence the subjective well-being, but indirectly, through nutritional status or environmental characteristics.

In a time when Japan’s population is aging rapidly, geriatric care is getting increased focus from healthcare providers in the country. The study provides crucial insights into how oral health exerts extended effects on mental health and suggests that healthcare investment in oral health can have increasing health benefits, especially in old age. “Our cross-sectional study has some limitations; however, the results highlight that a good oral health may improve the subjective psychological well-being in the long run,” concludes Dr. Takeuchi.

Reference:

Noriko Takeuchi, Nanami Sawada, Daisuke Ekuni, Manabu Morita, Association between oral condition and subjective psychological well-being among older adults attending a university hospital dental clinic: A cross-sectional study, PLOS ONE, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295078.

PLOS ONEOral HealthStressgum diseasetooth loss
Source : PLOS ONE
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer - Dr Aditya Murali

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer...

Aspirin in Primary Prevention- When to Consider?

Aspirin in Primary Prevention- When to Consider?

Featured image representing medico legal

What's the Role of Expert Opinion in Medical Negligence?

7- Point Discharge Protocol for AECOPD: Time to Inculcate in Practice

7- Point Discharge Protocol for AECOPD: Time to Inculcate in Practice

Aspirin Use in Women Aged 40-50 with Diabetes and Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

Aspirin Use in Women Aged 40-50 with Diabetes and Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

View All

Journal Club Today

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer - Dr Aditya Murali

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer...

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 09/ May/ 2025

Health Bulletin 09/ May/ 2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok