Complete dentures associated with frailty among edentulous older Japanese people: A prospective analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the cross-sectional and prospective associations between self-reported functionality of complete dentures (FCD), satisfaction with complete dentures (SCD) and the ability to chew hard food (ACHF) on the one hand and the frailty index (FI) on the other hand among edentulous community-dwelling older Japanese people.

Methods: The study examined 770 edentulous participants of the Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging. The self-reported FCD, SCD and ability to chew six groups of food (from hardest to softest) with complete dentures were the independent variables at the baseline.

Factors associated with masticatory performance in community-dwelling older adults: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Decreased masticatory performance leads to deterioration of overall health among older adults. However, maintaining and improving masticatory performance in ways other than maintenance of natural teeth and appropriate prosthodontic treatment remains unclear. If the factors related to the mixing and shearing abilities for masticatory performance are clarified, it may be possible to maintain and improve the masticatory performance of older adults.

Intentions and Factors Regarding Selection of Workplace by Postgraduate Dental Trainees after Clinical Training.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the reasons governing selection of geographical location of workplace by postgraduate dental trainees. We believe that such data would aid in the development of measures aimed at reducing regional disparities in the number of dentists. A total of 10 dental colleges and faculties in Japan were invited to participate in the study.

Micromolar sodium fluoride mediates anti-osteoclastogenesis in Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced alveolar bone loss.

Osteoclasts are bone-specific multinucleated cells generated by the differentiation of monocyte/macrophage lineage precursors. Regulation of osteoclast differentiation is considered an effective therapeutic approach to the treatment of bone-lytic diseases. Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease characterized by extensive bone resorption.

[Active life expectancy for elderly Japanese by chewing ability].

Objective: Panel interview surveys of nationally representative elderly people aged 65 years or above in Japan were conducted three times at 2-year intervals since 1999 (Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging) to estimate health expectancy for males and females separately according to their chewing ability.

Method: Multistate life table methods were applied to estimate health expectancy. Three health states, namely, active, inactive and dead, were defined according to the ability to perform specified daily activities.

[Interrelationship among factors associated with drinking behaviors in dental students].

We analyzed the Kurihama Alcoholism Screening Test (KAST), the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (AAIS), the Fagerstroem Tolerance Questionnaire (FTQ), the Tokyo University ALDH2-Phenotype Screening Test (TAST), results of ethanol patch tests, the presence or absence of a smoking habit, and gender by "Hayashi's quantification theory, type II" in 415 senior students (232 males and 183 females) of a dental college between 2000 and 2003, and evaluated their relationships. When drinking education is given to dental students, both the prevention of acute alcohol intoxication by chugging and the prevention of alcohol dependence in students with drinking behavior suggesting this tendency are necessary. For acute alcohol intoxication, attention can be aroused in students with positive ethanol patch tests.

Association of natural tooth loss with genetic variation at the human matrix Gla protein locus in elderly women.

Natural tooth loss represents a major medical issue within the elderly population, since it impairs masticatory function critical for oral intake of essential nutrition. Contribution of genetic factors has been implicated in the determination of natural tooth loss; degree of reduction in number of natural teeth remaining intact (NTI) varies among individuals; thus, heterogeneity in NTI might reflect genetic variation within the population. One candidate gene, the matrix Gla protein gene (MGP), has been implicated in the pathogenesis of bone loss through a repression of bone/tooth formation.

[Relationship between ethanol patch test and problem drinkers among dental students].

In 2000 and 2001, we carried out a drinking habit survey and the Ethanol Patch Test on 232 fourth-year dental students (128 males, 104 females). The results were statistically analyzed. For the survey, the students were asked to fill out, anonymously, the forms of the Tokyo-University ALDH2-Phenotype Screening Test (TAST), the Kurihama Alcoholism Screening Test (KAST), and the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (AAIS).