Nutrition and Oral Medicine (Nutrition and Health)

Chapter 8 / Oral Diseases and Conditions 1298 Nutritional Consequencesof Oral Conditions and DiseasesA. Ross Kerr and Riva Touger-Decker1. INTRODUCTIONOral health status is influenced by numerous oral diseases and conditions, includingloss of teeth and supporting dental alveolar bone, xerostomia, loss of taste and smell,orofacial pain, oral movement disorders, and others. Other major factors include generalhealth, socioeconomic status (SES), nutritional well-being, and dietary habits (1).Diseases of the oral cavity, both local and systemic, can have a significant impact onability to consume an adequate diet and consequently maintain optimal nutrition status.The impact of tooth loss, edentulism, and removable prostheses on dietary habits, dietadequacy, masticatory function, olfaction, and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders has beendocumented (2–11). Inadequate intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is commonin edentulous individuals or those individuals with maxillary and mandibularcomplete dentures, resulting in an inadequate intake of dietary fiber and vitamins A andC (5,9,10). Disorders of taste and smell can affect appetite and salivary flow and compromisedietary intake. Orofacial pain, salivary disorders, and oral movement disorderscan also have a negative impact on appetite and impair normal oral function and eatingability. The relationship between oral disease and nutrition is synergistic. Oral diseases,along with acute, chronic, and terminal systemic diseases with oral manifestations,impact functional ability to eat as well as nutritional well-being (11).1.1. Nutrition Consequence FollowingPhysical Loss of Masticatory Apparatus1.1.1. TOOTH AND ALVEOLAR BONE LOSSAND THE EFFECTS OF DENTAL REHABILITATIONData from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III)conducted from 1988 to 1991 showed that approx 60% of US adults were missing at leastone tooth, and 10% were edentulous (12). Rates of edentulism correlated strongly withage, with the average number of teeth and a rate of edentulism in the over-75 age groupestimated to be nine teeth per person and 44%, respectively. Despite the increasingnumber of senior citizens, the rate of tooth loss and edentulism has been declining andFrom: Nutrition and Oral MedicineEdited by: R. Touger-Decker, D. A. Sirois, and C. C. Mobley © Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ129