Relationship between Food Crushing and Oral Function in Older Adults Requiring Nursing Home Care: A Pilot Study

Kanako Yamawaki, Takahiro Mori, Sakiko Itaki, Azusa Haruta, Chiho Takeda, Aya Hiraoka, Mariko Maruyama, Mineka Yoshikawa, Mitsuyoshi Yoshida and Kazuhiro Tsuga
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Kanako Yamawaki: Departments of Advanced Prosthodontics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Takahiro Mori: Departments of Advanced Prosthodontics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Sakiko Itaki: PIA Nakamura Hospital, Tsuboi, 3-818-1, Saeki-ku, Hiroshima 731-5142, Japan
Azusa Haruta: Departments of Advanced Prosthodontics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Chiho Takeda: Departments of Advanced Prosthodontics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Aya Hiraoka: Departments of Advanced Prosthodontics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Mariko Maruyama: Departments of Advanced Prosthodontics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Mineka Yoshikawa: Departments of Advanced Prosthodontics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Mitsuyoshi Yoshida: Departments of Dentistry and Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Dengakugakubo, 1-98, Kutsukake-cho, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan
Kazuhiro Tsuga: Departments of Advanced Prosthodontics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, 1-2-3, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: We investigated how jelly is crushed and examined the relationship between tongue pressure and tongue food crushing ability among older adults requiring nursing home care. Seventy-two participants were instructed to freely crush the test foods soft jelly (SJ) and hard jelly (HJ). We visually evaluated the crushability of the test food and identified the intraoral tissues (active sites) used to crush the test food. The active sites were consistent for all participants for both SJ and HJ, and they included the maxillary and mandibular teeth in 41 participants, teeth and residual ridges in 15 participants, maxillary and mandibular residual ridges in 10 participants, and tongue and palate in six participants. Two participants failed to crush the SJ; the active sites in both participants were the tongue and palate. No participant using the tongue and palate as active sites could crush the HJ. Furthermore, 64 participants could crush the SJ and 23 could crush the HJ using the tongue and palate. The cutoff value of the tongue pressure for crushability of the HJ was 22.0 kPa. Assessing tongue pressure and intraoral active sites involved in food crushing could help determine an appropriate diet for older adults requiring nursing home care.

Keywords: diet modification; dysphagia; geriatric dentistry; geriatric nursing; mastication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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