Dentition and nutritional status of aged New Zealanders living in aged residential care.

Background: Previous studies of the nutritional status of older individuals have used measures such as plasma vitamin and mineral levels, which can be difficult to interpret. The relationship between nutrition and dentition has been limited to studying exposures such as the number of posterior occluding pairs of teeth, edentulousness, and the number of natural teeth.

Objectives: To investigate the association between dentition status and nutritional status in a national survey of older New Zealanders living in aged residential care facilities.