The benefits of good oral health: A scientific view from a nutritional perspective

Abstract

Various observational studies have reported that oral health status indices, including the number of teeth and denture use and fit, are associated with dietary and nutritional status. However, despite these findings, it remains unclear whether oral function improved with prosthetic treatment contributes to improved dietary and nutritional status. Evidence has long been lacking on this topic. Recent well-designed intervention studies have reported that prosthetic treatment contemporaneous with nutrition counseling resulted in positive effects on dietary and nutritional status. In this paper, we set diet and nutrition as the clinical outcomes of prosthetic treatment, and aimed to review recent scientific evidence regarding the association between prosthetic treatment and dietary and nutritional status and the future prospects.