Abstract
We examined the relationships between the dental condition of patients with dementia and the type of food served. The subjects were 81 patients with dementia, who lived in a nursing home (average age 80. 6). Most of the patients have Alzheimer's disease. We divided the patients into a regular food group and a chopped food group, according to the way in which their side dishes were prepared. In these two groups we examined Activities of Daily Life (ADL), the Revised Hasegawa's Dementia Scale (HDS-R), presence of dentures and number of functional teeth. The scoring system of ADL was as follows. Firstly we divided ADL into 5 categories; going to the bathroom, eating, bathing, getting dressed and washing the face. Secondly we gave each person 1, 2 or 3 points according to their ability and calculated the total for each person.
The results were as follows;
1. ADL scores in the regular food group are higher than those in the chopped food group.
2. The number of denture wearers in the regular food group is higher than that in the chopped food group.
3. The number of functional teeth in the regular food group is higher than that in the chopped food group.
4. When patients have more than 8 functional teeth, they tend to have a regular food, while those with less than 7 tend to have chopped food.
5. The way in which the food was prepared did not affect the degree of dementia.
In conclusion, for patients with severe dementia to keep having a regular food, it is thoughtnecessary to have higher ADL scores and more functional teeth.
