title: Impact of denture usage patterns on dietary quality and food avoidance among older adults.
abstract: This study categorizes older adults living in rural areas by denture status, assesses the frequency of wearing dentures during meals, and determines whether denture status or use is associated with dietary quality or the number of foods avoided. A multi-ethnic population-based sample of adults ≥60 years (N = 635) in the rural United States was interviewed. Survey included denture use, removing dentures before eating, and foods avoided due to oral health problems. Dietary intakes were converted into Healthy Eating Index-2005 scores. Sixty percent wore removable dentures of some type; 55% never, 27% sometimes, and 18% always removed dentures when eating. More frequent removal was associated with lower dietary quality and more foods avoided. Those with severe tooth loss had the lowest dietary quality and avoided the most foods. Many rural older adults wear dentures. Learning how they adapt to denture use will offer insight into their nutritional self-management and help explain differences in dietary quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina 27402, USA. mrsavoca@uncg.edu
authors.forename: Margaret R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Savoca
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Arcury
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.forename: Haiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ronny A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Andrea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kohrman
authors.forename: Gregg H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Sara A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Quandt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003778:Dentures; D004032:Diet; D002149:Energy Intake; D007887:Fabaceae; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008892:Milk; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009754:Nuts; D009909:Oral Health; D011203:Poverty; D012648:Self Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss; D014481:United States; D014675:Vegetables