title: Oral mucosal appearance is unchanged in healthy, different-aged persons.
abstract: Oral mucosal status in 182 different-aged, healthy, community-dwelling persons was evaluated. Ninety-four men and 88 women, ranging in age between 20 and 95 years, participated in this study. Oral mucosal status was assessed according to both subjective complaints and a semiquantitative clinical rating scale. No changes in either criterion were detected with increasing age. Oral mucosal status of the older subjects of this study was comparable to that found in a previous study with a randomly enrolled, noninstitutionalized older population in Iowa. The results of this study suggest that aging per se does not lead to changes in the appearance of oral mucosa.
authors.affiliation: Clinical investigations and patient Care Branch, National Institute of Dental, Bethesda, Md. National Institute of Dental, Bethesda, Md.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ship
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Tylenda
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Baum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003778:Dentures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking