Abstract
The object of the present study was to investigate whether or not improved oral function by dental treatment leads to improvement of the type of diet and activity of daily living (ADL) among aged patients. One hundred and seventeen aged patients over the age of 64, who received dental treatment from January 1999 to December 2001, participated in this study. The type of diet was classified as ordinary diet, ordinary rice with chopped side diet, semi-fluid rice with ordinary side diet, semi-fluid rice with chopped side diet, fluid diet and tube feeding. ADL was graded as self-supported, semiselfsupported and totally supported among the five categories of eating, bathing, excretion, wearing of clothes and moving.
The type of diet improved in 59 (50.4%) patients after the dental treatment, whereas no change in the type of diet was seen among 53 (45.3%) patients. Five (4.3%) patients showed a decline of the type of diet. Cases of the ordinary diet markedly increased and those of semi-fluid rice with chopped side diet obviously decreased after the dental treatment. In addition, about 40-60 percent of patients showed the improvement of the type of diet after the dental treatment, regardless of ADL. On the other hand, only four (3.4%) patients showed the improvement of ADL with regard to, at least, one of these five categories. Four (3.4%) patients showed a decline of ADL, and no change in ADL was seen in the remaining 109 (93.2%) patients. There was no obvious change in ADL after the dental treatment.
