title: Masticatory performance in 80-year-old individuals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the masticatory performance of elderly people at the age of 80 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 283 individuals of 80 years of age took part in a general and dental health survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A dental examination including the number of remaining teeth, occlusion, prostheses, bite force recording, and a questionnaire regarding masticatory performance were recorded.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five municipalities (Okazaki city, Tokoname city, Tahara town, Atsumi town and Minami-chita town) in Aichi prefecture, Japan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 20 or more teeth in 7.4% subjects, and 44.5% were edentulous. Subjects with no occlusion accounted for 77.4% of the total. Subjects with prostheses accounted for 90.8%. Maximum bite force and masticatory ability score for patients with 20 or more teeth or not wearing prostheses were higher than other groups. The non-wearing prostheses group had a low masticatory ability score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the 80-year-old individuals recovered their masticatory ability with the assistance of prostheses. Several individuals with 20 or more remaining teeth or without removable dentures present in both jaws had a high score for bite forces and masticatory abilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Removable Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Aichi-Gakuin University, Nagoya, Japan. msy-tprs@dpc.aichi-aikuin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tatematsu
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Toyozo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Masami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hattori
authors.forename: Ichizo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Haruo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakagaki
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Taeko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tuboi
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hayashizaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Morimasa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001732:Bite Force; D003778:Dentures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007574:Jaw Relation Record; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000503:physiopathology*