Association Between Prosthodontic Treatment and Dietary Diversity in old Outpatients.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the type of prosthodontic treatment, e.g., removable dentures (RD) and implant dentures (ID) including implant-supported fixed restorations and implant-assisted over dentures, and dietary diversity among Japanese older outpatients.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the prosthodontic clinic of Okayama University Hospital in Japan. The study involved a total of 297 patients (mean age: 75.3 years; mean number of present teeth: 16.7 teeth; RD/ID: 135/162 patients) who were aged 65 or older and had received RD or ID maintenance between March and December 2022. Dietary diversity was assessed using the Dietary Variety Score (DVS) questionnaire, which covers ten primary food groups in Japanese meals (Kumagai et al., 2003). Related factors for dietary diversity were identified using multiple regression analysis, with age, gender, the number of present teeth, the type of prosthodontic treatment, masticatory ability score, duration of prosthetics use, the presence of family members residing with the patient, and the presence of cardiovascular, digestive, and endocrine diseases, which were considered as potential confounders (Ethical committee approval: KEN2105-049).
Results: No significant difference was observed in median DVS between RD and ID groups (median: 3.0 and 4.0, p = 0.23). After adjusting confounding factors, lower DVS was associated with higher age (β = 0.32, p < 0.01) and the presence of cardiovascular disease (β = -0.2, p < 0.01), while the type of prosthodontic treatment (β = 0.18, p = 0.57) and the number of present teeth (β = 0.21, p = 0.58) were not significantly associated with DVS.
Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that dietary diversity was not significantly associated with the type of prosthodontic treatment and the number of present teeth. Interestingly, higher age and the presence of cardiovascular disease were significantly associated with lower dietary diversity.