Masticatory performance in 80-year-old individuals.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the masticatory performance of elderly people at the age of 80 years. SUBJECTS: A total of 283 individuals of 80 years of age took part in a general and dental health survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A dental examination including the number of remaining teeth, occlusion, prostheses, bite force recording, and a questionnaire regarding masticatory performance were recorded. SETTING: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.

[Human papillomavirus infection in the oral cavity of denture wearers].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of human papillomavirus(HPV)infections in the oral cavity of middle-aged and elderly dental patients with dentures. METHODS: In this study, 47 patients (20 men and 27 women), aged from 50 to 78 years, were randomly selected from the patients in the Department of Prosthodontics, Aichi-Gakuin University Affiliated Dental Hospital. Oral squamous cells were collected from swabs of the buccal mucosa. For this procedure, informed consent was obtained. Extracted DNA was evaluated for HPV infections by PCR methods, using consensus and specific primers, and direct DNA sequencing analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-four of 47 specimens (51.1%) were positive for HPV DNA. A statistically significant association was not found in the HPV positivity between men and women. The high rate of infection was recognized from 60 or more years old. A statistically significant association was found in the HPV positivity between non-denture wearers and denture wearers. Frequent HPV types in the specimens of all were HPV11, 4 and 16. Frequent HPV types in the specimens of non-denture wearers and denture wearers were HPV4, 11 and HPV11, 16 and 4, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present investigation indicate that HPV is present in the oral cavity, especially those of denture wearers, of middle-aged and elderly patients. It is suggested, therefore, that the oral cavity of middle-aged and elderly patients with dentures is a reservoir of HPVs where later HPV-associated diseases, such as oral cancer and other oral lesions, may develop.