Recent measures in geriatric oral health care in Japan

Abstract

In Japan, with rapid aging, the measures surrounding oral health care in the elderly have significantly improved. Previously, prioritized goals concerning the prevention of dental diseases and an increase in the number of remaining teeth were adopted. However, maintaining and improving oral function are the new goals to be adopted, in addition to those goals. For prolonging healthy life expectancy, countermeasures against the frailty of oral function are necessary because oral function is frequently found to be deteriorating in the elderly. It is said that lowering oral function is a significant risk factor for malnutrition and sarcopenia. The concept of “oral frailty” was initially advocated in Japan. Oral frailty among the community-dwelling elderly has a close association with their nutritional condition. A healthy diet with well-balanced masticatory and swallowing function greatly contributes to improving the entire body function. Recent Japanese oral health policy and novel approaches to oral health care in the elderly will be beneficial to the other middle-income Asian countries as well. Thus, this article reviews the current situation of geriatric oral health care and countermeasures against oral frailty as a new concern in geriatric oral health in Japan.