Secretion of salivary statherin is compromised in uncontrolled diabetic patients.

Background: Statherin is an important salivary protein for maintaining oral health. The purpose of the current study was to determine if differences in statherin levels exist between diabetic and healthy subjects.

Methods: A total of 48 diabetic and healthy controls were randomly selected from a community-based database.

Oral health issues in the nutrition of institutionalized elders.

Oral health is critical to systemic health and quality of life for the elderly, especially the institutionalized elderly, who are at high risk for oral and nutritional problems. Oral health is an integral component of overall nutritional health, just as nutrition plays a vital role in overall oral health. This article reviews the critical factors in the relationship among oral, nutritional, and systemic health and urges ongoing collaboration of providers of health care to reduce the rate of morbidity and mortality in institutionalized elders.

Intra-oral tactile sensation and aging in a community-based population.

Background And Aims: Intra-oral sensory function plays an important role in swallowing and food intake, yet the impact of aging on oral tactile perception is uncertain. This study examined the effects of age, ethnicity, and gender on tactile perception at specific intra-oral sites in a community-based sample of 372 Mexican-Americans (MAs) and European-Americans (EAs).

Methods: Four levels of air-pressure were delivered to sites on the anterior and posterior thirds of the tongue and on the velum.

Geriatric medical education and training in the United States.

Medical education in geriatrics is an important requirement to ready the profession to provide comprehensive health care to the world's and also Taiwan's aging population. The predoctoral curricula and postdoctoral training programs in the United States were developed and supported by government agencies and professional education societies. Geriatric medical education in American medical schools has improved in the past 20 years, yet is still facing many challenges.

Dietary intake in edentulous subjects with good and poor quality complete dentures.

Statement Of Problem: Previous studies in complete denture wearers evaluated the relationship between diet and measures of chewing, yet only isolated nutrient intake was considered. This limited information makes the assessment of overall diet quality and the planning of interventions difficult.

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship of complete denture quality to masticatory performance, perceived ability to chew, and diet quality as measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), an overall diet quality index.