ABSTRACT
Objectives@#Loneliness was associated with not only social status but also general health. Psychological conditions in older people have negative effects on general health and oral health. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between loneliness and subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly. @*Methods@#This cross-sectional study analyzed the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) for the questionnaire, UCLA loneliness scale data of 1,511 older adults living in a rural community. Logistic regression was conducted to identify the relevance of subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly according to the level of loneliness. @*Results@#According to the final model that after adjustment for other risk factors (age, gender, level of education, smoking, drinking, etc.), in the elderly who rarely feel loneliness group compared to the elderly who never feel loneliness was Odds ratio (OR) 1.256 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.99-1.60) and sometimes+often feel loneliness was OR 2.110 (95% CI: 1.39-3.21). @*Conclusions@#Loneliness is associated with subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly. Older people feeling loneliness are likely to have more subjective chewing discomfort.
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the relationship between smoking and periodontal disease through quantitative analysis of intra-buccal oral pathogenic bacteria detected in smokers and aims to yield objective baseline data for applications in anti-smoking and dental health education programs. From April to May 2016, participants in an oral health management program within an intensive dental hygiene training course at Choonhae College of Health Sciences received an explanation of the study purposes and methods, after which male smokers aged 18~30 years agreed to participate voluntarily. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of oral pathogenic bacteria was performed after collecting gingival sulcus fluid samples from 67 smokers. The intra-buccal oral pathogenic bacteria distributions were analyzed based on the subjects' general characteristics, smoking behaviors, and oral care behaviors. The distribution results show that pathogens in the anterior teeth are affected (in this order) by age, toothbrush size, and smoking status; older people had fewer pathogens, those who used larger toothbrushes had more pathogens, and smokers had more pathogens, compared to non-smokers ((adj)R²=19.1). In the posterior teeth, pathogens were influenced (in this order) by smoking status, smoking duration, and the number of tooth brushings per day; smokers had more pathogens than non-smokers, and those who brushed their teeth more often had fewer pathogens ((adj)R²=25.1). The overall pathogen distribution was affected only by smoking status: smokers generally had more pathogens, compared to non-smokers. Therefore, it is necessary to provide information about the risk of periodontal disease due to smoking during anti-smoking or dental health education sessions; particularly, the use of smaller toothbrushes for anterior teeth and the need for smokers in their early twenties to quit smoking for dental health should be highly emphasized.