Health advocates and dentists alike are increasingly interested in the connection between oral health and mortality. There are several oral health factors that have been correlated with mortality including the number of missing teeth, subjective mastication function, periodontal disease and oral care habits. Here are a few studies that have examined the connection between oral health and mortality and their results.
| Name | Author | Country | Subjects | Follow-up Period | Main results (mortality), HR, OR (95% CI) |
| Dental status, quality of life, and mortality in an older community population: a multivariate approach. J Am Geriatr Soc 1997 Nov; 45(11): 1315-1323 | Appollonio et al. | Italy | Aged 70-75 years, n=1,303 [followers: 1,201] | 10 years | All-cause mortality Naturally adequate dental status group VS. denture wearing group HR 1.34 (95%CI 1.06-1.70) Naturally inadequate dental status and subjects without dentures HR 1.51 (95%CI 1.11-2.05) |
| Influence of dentition status on physical disability, mental impairment, and mortality in institutionalized elderly people, J Dent Res 2001; 80: 340- 345 | Shimazaki et al. | Japan | Aged 79.7± 7.5 years n=1,929 | 6 years | 20 teeth group VS. edentate without denture wearing group OR 1.8 (95%CI 1.1-2.8) |
| Relationship between oral health and mortality rate. Journal of Clinical Periodontol 2002; 29: 1029-1034 | Jansson et al. | Sweden | Aged 18-66 years n=1,393 | 26 years | All-cause mortality comparison the means for number of remaining teeth (aged 18-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-66 years) between survival and death during the 26 years, For all groups of age, median for number of remaining teeth survival death |
| Relationship between dental health and 10-year mortality in a cohort of community-dwelling elderly people. Eur J Oral Sci 2003; 111: 291-296 | Hämäläinen et al. | Finland | Aged 80 years, n=226 | 10 years | Number of missing teeth HR 1.026 (95%CI: 1.002-1.051) |
| Oral health indicators poorly predict coronary heart disease deaths. J Dent Res 2003 Sep; 82(9): 713-718 | Tuominen et al. | Finland | Aged 30- 39years, n=6,527 | 12 years | CHD mortality Group of 25 natural functional teeth VS. Male 11-24 teeth RR 0.8 (95%CI 0.5-1.3) , 0-10 teeth RR 0.9 (95%CI 0.5-1.6) Female 11-24 teeth RR 0.5 (95%CI 0.2-1.8) , 0-10 teeth RR 0.3 (95%CI 0.1-1.0) |
| Loss of teeth and coronary heart disease. Int J Prosthodont 2004 Jul- Aug; 17(4): 441-446 | Ragnarsson et al. | Iceland | Aged 25-74 years, n=2,613 | 8-15 years | All-cause mortality Number of teeth HR 0.987 (95%CI 0.975-0.999 |
| Relationship between survival rates and numbers of natural teeth in an elderly Japanese population. Gerodontology 2006, 23: 214-218 | Morita et al | Japan | Aged 80 years n=118 | 10 years | All-cause mortality 20 teeth group VS. <20 teeth group Female NS |
| Dental status and mortality in institutionalized elderly people. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2006, 6: 101-108 | Ohrui et al. | Japan | Aged 82.8± 7.7 years n=403 | 5 years | All-cause mortality Natural teeth only or natural teeth with partial denture group VS. edentate with or without dentures group2-year follow-up HR 1.84 (95%CI 1.01-3.36)5-year follow-up HR 1.30 (95%CI 0.90-1.88) |
| Denture use, malnutrition, frailty, and mortality among older women living in the community. J Nutr Health Aging. 2006 Mar-Apr; 10(2): 161-167 | Semba et al. | USA | Aged 70-79 years n=826 female | 5 years | All-cause mortality no denture group VS. denture wearer group with difficulty chewing or swallowing HR 1.43 (95%CI 1.05-1.97) |
| Functional tooth number and 15-year mortality in a cohort of community-residing older people, Geriatr Gerontol Int 2007; 7: 341-347 | Fukai et al. | Japan | Aged 40-89 years n=5,830 | 15 years | All-cause mortality 10 functional teeth group VS. <10 functional teeth group Male HR 1.33 (95%CI 1.11-1.59), Female NS CVD mortality Male p<0.05, Female NS Cancer mortality, pneumonia mortality, cerebrovascular mortality Male NS Female NS |
| Number of teeth–a predictor of mortality in the elderly? A population study in three Nordic localities. Acta Odontol Scand 2007 Nov; 65(6): 335-340 | Osterberg et al. | Denmark | Aged 75 years n=1,004 | 7 years | All-cause mortality Female HR 0.87 (95%CI 0.78-0.97)Male NS |
| Associations between tooth loss and mortality patterns in the Glasgow Alumni Cohort. Heart 2007; 93(9): 1098-1103. (Epub 2006 Dec 12.) | Tu et al. | UK | Aged 16-30 years (median age 19 years) n=12,223 | 57 years | All-cause mortality Number of missing teeth as either continuousHR1.01(95%CI: 1.00-1.02)CVD mortality number of 0-4 missing teeth group VS.number of 9 teeth group HR 1.35 (95%CI 1.03-1.77)Cancer mortality NS |
| The association between tooth loss and coronary heart disease in men and women. J Public Health Dent 2004 Fall; 64(4): 209-215 | Hung et al. | USA | Male Aged 40- 75years n=41,407 Female Aged 30- 55years n=58,974 | Male 12 years Female 6 years | CHD mortality Group of 25-32 functional teeth VS. Male 17-24 teeth HR 1.26 (95%CI 1.01-1.57) 11-16 teeth HR 1.19 (95%CI 0.79-1.80) 0-10 teeth HR 1.79 (95%CI 1.34-2.40) Female 17-24 teeth HR 1.02 (95%CI 0.66-1.55) 11-16 teeth HR 1.07 (95%CI 0.55-2.05) 0-10 teeth HR 1.6 (95%CI 1.11-2.46) |
| Tooth loss is associated with increased risk of total death and death from upper gastrointestinal cancer, heart disease, and stroke in a Chinese population-based cohort. Int J of Epidemiol 2005; 34: 467-474 | Abnet et al. | China | Aged 40-69 years n=29,584 [followers: 28,790] | 15 years | Number of age-specific missing teeth (median) group VS Number of age-specific missing teeth (median) group All-cause mortality RR 1.13 (95%CI: 1.09-1.18) Heart disease mortality RR 1.28 (95%CI 1.17-1.40) |
| Can the relation between tooth loss and chronic disease be explained by socio-economic status? A 24-year follow-up from the population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden. Eur J Epidemiol 2005; 20(3): 229-236 | Cabrera et al. | Sweden | Aged 38-60 years n=1,462 female | 24 years | All-cause mortality <=10 missing teeth group VS. >=11 missing teeth group CVD mortality Cancer mortality |
| Hämäläinen P, Meurman JH, Kauppinen M, Keskinen M. Oral infections as predictors of mortality. Gerodontology 2005 Sep; 22(3): 151-157 | Hämäläinen et al. | Finland | Aged 85 years n=94 | 5 years | All-cause mortality Small number of remaining teeth group VS. high number of remaining teeth group HR 0.939 (95%CI 0.884-0.998) |
| Eight-year mortality associated with dental occlusion and denture use in community-dwelling elderly persons. Gerodontology 2005 Dec; 22(4): 234- 237 | Yoshida et al. | Japan | Aged 65 years n=1,030 | 8 years | All-cause mortality No occlusal contact group VS. functionally adequate occlusal contact group HR 0.78(95%CI: 0.60-0.99) No occlusal contact with denture group VS. no occlusal contact with no denture group HR 1.52 (95%CI: 1.25-1.83) |
| Number of teeth–a predictor of mortality in 70-year-old subjects. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2008; 36(3): 258-268 | Osterberg et al. | Sweden | Aged 70 years 7-year follow-up n=1803 18-year follow-up n=1,381 | 7 years and 18 years | Edentulous no teeth group VS. All-cause mortality 7 years follow-up, Female HR 0.97 Male HR 0.96 (95%CI 0.94-0.98) 18 years follow-up, Female NS |
| Number of teeth and mortality risk in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2008 Jul; 63(7): 739-744 | Pdiha et al. | USA | Aged 57.46 ±17.37 years n=500 | 15-year 5- month(±90 months) | All-cause mortality >= 20 teeth group VS.1-19 teeth group HR 2.17 (95%CI 1.50-3.13) 0 teeth HR 1.76 (95%CI 1.04-2.98) |
| Tooth loss and subsequent disability and mortality in old age. J Am Geriatr Soc 2008, 56: 429-435 | Holm-Pedersen et al. | Denmark | Aged 70, 75, 80, 85, 90 years n=573 | 21 years | All-cause mortality >= 20 teeth group VS.0 teeth edentulous |
| Mortality rates of community- residing adults with and without dentures, Geriatr Gerontol Int 2008; 8 152-159 | Fukai et al. | Japan | Aged 40 89 years n=5,688 | 15 years | All-cause mortality <=10 teeth without denture wearing group VS. <=10 teeth with denture wearing group |
| Oral health and mortality risk from pneumonia in the elderly. J Dent Res 2008 Apr; 87(4): 334-339 | Awano et al. | Japan | Aged 80 years N = 697 | 4 years | All-cause mortality Edentulous group VS. 1-9 teeth NS 10-19 teeth NS >20 teeth NS Pneumonia mortality 1-9 teeth, >10 teeth and no periodontal pocket VS. 1-9 teeth (periodontal pocket) HR 3.9 (95%0 1.1-13.9) >10 teeth (periodontal pocket) HR3.9(95%C1 :1.1 -13.9) |