Influence of denture wearing of elderly with dementia on the state of dementia, general health, and QOL

本研究的受试者来自多家机构，均为轻度、中度和重度痴呆的老年人。对这些受试者进行口腔状况、口腔护理、痴呆状态、身心状态、饮食类型、营养状况（体重指数、血清白蛋白等）等方面的检查。日本正迅速进入老龄化社会，老年痴呆症患者的问题备受关注。老年痴呆症患者在日常生活中需要他人的帮助。因此，不仅是老人，家庭和其他人也受到很大的影响。可以预见的是，在老年社会的情况下，牙科是一个巨大的支持，以澄清老年痴呆症患者的身体，精神和口腔状态的关系。随着年龄的增长，痴呆症变得更加严重。在老年人轻度和中度痴呆的情况下，如果老年人缺乏现有臼齿的咬合支持，他们倾向于戴假牙。老年中重度痴呆患者，无现磨牙咬合支持，倾向于不戴假牙。佩戴假牙与身心状态（N-ADL和NM量表）无相关性。然而，很明显，护理人员在考虑受试者的整体状况时考虑了口腔护理。这表明口腔护理对老年痴呆患者的整体护理非常重要。另一方面，在患有中重度痴呆的老年人中，佩戴假牙的比例较低。营养状况是一个值得关注的问题，但很明显，如果饮食类型得到解决，并且饮食护理得到充分执行，不戴假牙对营养状况没有太大影响。为了保持老年痴呆患者良好的营养状态，这些结果表明与牙医和牙科工作人员的合作是必要的。

Subjects in this study are from several facilities, and are elderly with mild, moderate, and severe dementia. These subjects have been examined for oral state, oral care, state of dementia, physical and mental state, diet type, and nutritional state (Body Mass index, and serum albumin, etc.) for several years.Japan is rapidly becoming an aged society, and problems of the elderly with dementia now attract attention. Elderly with dementia need help from other people for daily life. Therefore, not only the elderly person, but also the family and others are greatly affected. It can be expected that Dentistry is a large support for the situation in an aged society, to clarify the relation regarding physical, mental, and oral state for such elderly with dementia.Dementia becomes a more severe condition with age. In the case of the elderly with mild and moderate dementia, if the elderly lacked occlusal support by present molar teeth, they tended to wear dentures. Elderly with moderate and severe dementia, without occlusal support by present molar teeth, tended to wear no dentures. Wearing dentures did not relate to the physical and mental state (N-ADL and NM scale). However, it was clear that caregivers thought about oral care in consideration of the subject's overall status. This indicated that oral care is very important for the overall care of elderly with dementia. On the other hand, in the case of elderly with moderate and severe dementia, the rate of wearing dentures was lower. Nutritional status was a concern, but it became clear that not wearing dentures did not have a large influence on nutritional status if diet type was addressed, and dietary care was performed adequately.To maintain good nutritional status of elderly with dementia, these results indicate that cooperation with the dentist and dental staff is necessary.