title: Tooth loss and mortality in elderly Japanese adults: effect of oral care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether oral care (tooth brushing, regular dental visits, and use of dentures) affects mortality in elderly individuals with tooth loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 4-year prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ohsaki City, Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one thousand seven hundred thirty community-dwelling individuals aged 65 and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a baseline survey in 2006, data were collected on number of remaining teeth and oral care status as measures of dental health. Data were also collected on age, sex, education level, smoking, alcohol drinking, time spent walking daily, medical history, psychological distress, and energy and protein intake as covariates. During the 4-year follow-up between 2006 and 2010, information on mortality was obtained from Ohsaki City government.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The multivariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards model showed an inverse dose-response relationship between number of remaining teeth and mortality (P for trend <.001). In participants with 0 to 19 teeth, practicing oral care was inversely associated with mortality. The multivariate hazard ratio for mortality in participants who practiced all three types of oral care was 0.54 (95% confidence interval = 0.45-0.64), compared with participants who practiced none of the three.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tooth brushing, regular dental visits, and use of dentures are inversely associated with mortality in elderly individuals with tooth loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Forensic Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. a8mb1067-thk@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hayasaka
authors.forename: Yasutake
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tomata
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aida
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kakizaki
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tsuji
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D003753:Dental Health Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013997:Time Factors; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*