GERIATRIC ORAL HEALTH AND ITS IMPACT ON EATING

OBJECTIVE: Adequate food and fluid intake and nutritional health are r equisites for sustaining life. The oral-pharyngeal region has evolved multiple, highly regulated processes to ensure that the intake, chewin g, and swallowing of foods and beverages is maintained. The objective of this paper is to identify the independent and collective roles of o ral health on eating in older people. DESIGN: Research reports from pe er-reviewed scientific journals. Hypothesis-driven research that objec tively examined taste, smell, dental and oral mucosal health, dental p rostheses, chewing, and swallowing in the context of aging. DATA EXTRA CTION AND SYNTHESIS: Data results were extracted independently by mult iple observers. A qualitative synthesis of data results from independe nt studies was made in order to form conclusions regarding the role of oral health on eating in older people. CONCLUSIONS: Many oral functio ns remain intact in healthy older adults. However, significant alterat ions arise from oral and systemic diseases and their treatments, and t hese may have a profound effect on eating, drinking, and the nutrition al status of older individuals. The care of older persons with smell, taste, dental/alveolar, oral mucosal, chewing, and swallowing problems requires a multidisciplinary team of health care providers. Recogniti on of the interrelationship between oral, pharyngeal, and systemic phy siological processes will help practitioners identify the etiology of these disorders and implement appropriate therapy.