Dental approach for prevention of falls in elderly people-Importance of maintenance of dental occlusion throughout life-

在本研究中，我们通过问卷调查评估了253名志愿者（105名男性和148名女性）在日本自由生活的成年人和老年人的牙齿状况与跌倒之间的关系。在过去3年期间，平均群体比率和人数下降为24人。1%和3。分别是36次。在跌倒者中，失去咬合支撑区的比例为29。维持咬合支撑区者占21%。4%。在此基础上，我们还研究了5名健康成人仅用牙夹板咬合前牙和5名健康老年人使用义齿的情况下，牙合变化对单侧下肢电刺激干扰下体位站立稳定性的影响。当牙夹板暂时失去咬合支撑区时，地面反力和最大地面反力均增加。老年人戴义齿时，咬牙时前后、中外侧的最大地反力均小于不戴义齿时咬牙时的最大地反力。目前的研究结果表明，终身维持牙合不仅可以更好地保护咀嚼功能，而且可以预防以后的跌倒。

In the present study, we assessed the relation between dental status and fall in a sample of 253 volunteers(105 men and 148 women) free-living adults and elderly people in Japan by a questionnaire survey. The mean group rate and number of people who had fallen during the past 3-year period were 24. 1% and 3. 36 times, respectively. Among those who had fallen, the proportion who had lost the occlusal supporting zone was 29. 7%, while the proportion who maintained the occlusal supporting zone was 21. 4%. Then, we also investigated the influence of change in dental occlusion on the stabilization of posture stance disturbed by electrical stimulation of unilateral lower limb in healthy 5 adults volunteers with dental splint occluded anterior teeth only and 5 healthy elderly people with denture. When the occlusal supporting zone was transiently lost by insertion of dental splint, both and maximum ground reaction force were increased. In the elderly people with dentures, maximum ground reaction forces in both anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions with teeth clenching on wearing denture were smaller than that with teeth clenching on wearing no denture. The present results suggested that maintenance of dental occlusion throughout life would be possibly effective for not only preserving better the masticatory function but also preventing falls later in life.