Study: Retaining Natural Teeth Associated With Improved Functional Ability In Older Adults

Medscape  (6/3, Lynch, Subscription Publication) reported a new study suggests that “older adults with more natural teeth are better able to perform everyday tasks.” In the study, co-led by University College London, researchers analyzed “data from 5631 adults…aged between 50 and 70 years,” finding that “retaining one more natural tooth reduced the probability of having a limitation in” instrumental activities of daily living “by 3.1 percentage points.” Senior author Prof. Georgios Tsakos said, “Even after taking in factors such as participant’s education qualification, self-rated health and their parent’s education level for example, we still found a positive association between the number of natural teeth a person had and their functional ability.” The study  was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.