Abstract
Patients: Recently, as the number of patients with dementia increases, preemptive interventions to prevent dementia are expected. In the present case, a prosthetic treatment was performed on a toothless patient diagnosed as having mild cognitive impairment due to Lewy body disease, and changes in masticatory function and cognitive function were observed over time. Masticatory function was measured by using a glucosensor (GS-II, GC, Tokyo, Japan), and cognitive function was assessed using the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J), which evaluates mild cognitive impairment at the non-dementia level, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Hasegawa Dementia Rating Scale - Revised (HDS-R), which are screening scales for dementia. The Lawton Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (Lawton-IADL) was used to assess social functioning in a multilayered manner.
Discussion: During the 18-month follow-up, when a new complete denture was attached to the upper and lower jaws, the masticatory function improved and cognitive function remained at the level of mild cognitive impairment, and no progression to dementia was observed.
Conclusions: These results suggest that intervention in oral function by prosthetic treatment may be a preemptive preventive intervention against the progression of cognitive impairment and the onset of dementia.
