tooth loss

Tooth loss associated with brain shrinkage

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An interesting article titled “Associations of Dental Health With the Progression of Hippocampal Atrophy in Community-Dwelling Individuals: The Ohasama Study,” written by Satoshi Yamaguchi and et. al. appears in Neurology, published on Juy 5, 2023. The article sought to explore associations between the number of teeth present and hippocampal atrophy older patients 55 years and older in a longitudinal study. The hippocampus is part of the brain that is important for learning and memory. With Alzheimer’s disease, atrophy of the hippocampus is a common feature but other factors, such as periodontitis (gum disease) can be seen. The researchers were under the assumption that the association between dental health and hippocampal atrophy might be due to inflammation. Gum disease is a chronic inflammatory condition, and inflammation has been shown to damage the hippocampus. The study included 172 people with an average … Read more

People With Missing Teeth May Not Need Dentures

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Interesting research from the University of Adelaide questions whether or not all of those people who have dentures really need them. The research was conducted by the University’s Australian Research Center for Population Oral Health in the School of Dentistry and found that people with tooth loss do not have their quality of life interfered with if they still have a certain type and number of teeth left. These patients are considered to have shortened dental arches which enables them to maintain functional use of many teeth. The researchers says there is a cut off point at which tooth loss contributes to loss of quality of life where dentures can be used to improve dentures. However, the researchers feel that dentures are only needed once that cutting off point is reached. The study was based on data of 2,700 Australians. … Read more

Natural Tooth Loss Linked to Memory and Walking Speed Declines

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A study appearing in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at the memory and walking speed of older individuals with and without their natural teeth. A total of 3,166 adults age 60 and over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were looked at. The results showed that people with none of their own teeth were around 10% worse in both memory and walking speed tests when compared to people who still had some teeth. The results were adjusted for a large amount of potential factors such as existing health problems, physical health, drinking, depression, sociodemographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status. The link between older adults without any of their natural teeth who had worse memory and physical function was more evident in adults aged 60 to 74 years old than those aged 75 and older. The researchers say … Read more