The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of the psychological background on the changes in blood pressure. This was achieved by analyzing the psychological state of the patients, such as anxiety and displeasure, at the time of taking a preliminary impression of the upper jaw.
The subjects were 17 elderly patients who reported in interviews that they had no or diseases of the circulatory system. Blood pressure was measured by tonometry using a non-invasive continuous blood pressure-measuring apparatus. The anxiety and displeasure levels were determined using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Visual analogue scale (VAS), respectively. The procedures of the examination were as follows. First, a STAI examination (trait anxiety, state anxiety) and a VAS examination were conducted. Then after confirming that the blood pressure was stable, a preliminary impression of the upper jaw was performed. Finaly the STAI (state anxiety) and the VAS examinations were performed again.
Analysis of the psychological background and increases in blood pressure gave the following results.
1. The increase in blood pressure at the time of the preliminary impression taking was not correlated with the class of state anxiety before and after impression taking, but it was significantly correlated with the class of trait anxiety. There was a significant difference in the increase in blood pressure between class III (normal) and class IV (high) of the trait anxiety.
2. The increase in blood pressure at the time of preliminary impression taking was not correlated with the decrease in the VAS value and the decrease in the anxietylevel, but it was significantly correlated with the VAS values before and after impression taking.
These results indicated that the changes in blood pressure at the time of preliminary impression taking were affected by the characteristics of subjects represented by trait anxiety and psychological background.

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The risk of oral candidiasis is high in the elderly, but the condition is preventable by mouth rinsing. In this study, in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to ascertain the effects of mouth rinses on Candida albicans.
The bactericidal effects of three mouth rinses, Listerine, Mondamine, and Mouthwash, on
C. albicans were investigated. Marked bactericidal effects were seen with Listerine at a final concentration of 60% and with Mondamine at a final concentration of 80%, but not with Mouthwash at a final concentration of 80%. Next, to ascertain the in vivo bactericidal effects of Listerine on Candida spp., nine elderly people were asked to gargle with it. The number of viable cells significantly decreased in five of the nine subjects. The strains of C. albicans that were isolated from the three individuals whose viable cells did not decrease were completely killed by Listerine in vitro, suggesting Listerine was not effective due to inadequate gargling.
The results of the present study suggest that the use of mouth rinses in the elderly is an effective oral care technique against C. albicans.

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Swalloaid is a removable denture-type aid for swallowing that is worn only on the upper jaw. There are some reports on the use of this device for the elderly with swallowing disorders. However, its effectiveness for the elderly with dementia is unclear. The purpose of this study is to clarify what kind of patients can receive Swalloaid therapy (reception) and can use it continuously (adaptation).
Thirty-nine subjects were selected from 84 elderly with senile dementia residing at a special nursing home for the elderly. After oral care and desensitization, subjects with a stable oral condition and able to receive Swalloaid therapy were surveyed on the course prior to wear, the circumstances during wear, and the adjustments after fitting. For the adapted subjects, the period and amount of jaw movement until pudding was swallowed with and without Swalloaid were measured.
Of the 39 subjects, 6 completed oral care and were receptive to Swalloaid therapy; of these, 5 were adaptive. When characteristics common to the 5 subjects were determined, 10 items were found as indicators for the Swalloaid therapy in the elderly with dementia. In addition, the period and amount of jaw movement until pudding was swallowed were reduced with the Swalloaid (P<0.01). These results suggest that Swalloaid therapy is useful for the elderly with dementia who are receptive to Swalloaid as a result of sufficient desensitization and oral care.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the efficacy of functional oral care for improving the lingual function of elderly people who require long term care in nursing homes. The subjects were 98 elderly resi-dents of 9 nursing homes in the Kanto and Shikoku areas of Japan. They were all ranked more than 10-points on the MMSE. They were randomly divided into 2 groups at each nursing home. One group (w/care) of 49 subjects (mean age: 80.8±8.0 years) received functional oral care, and the other group (w/o care, mean age: 82.2±7.3 years) received no oral health care. Dental hygienists gave the care to the w/care group once a week for a period of sixmonths. Assessments included the measurements of maximum lingual pressure and the RSST, and a survey of the meal type.
The results demonstrated that the lingual force and meal type could be improved by oral function training. It was suggested that an improving lingual function was significantly important in maintaining or recovering feeding/swallowing functions by the group trained in oral function care.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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