#0029 Association between dental consultation and oral health status among male Japanese employees
Dental Consultation Is Linked to Improved Oral Health among Male Japanese Employees
Although Japan has seen improvements in the number of teeth that the average adult retains, some adults still suffer from poor dental health. Regular tooth-brushing and visits to dental professionals have been shown to reduce the risk of tooth loss. Regular oral health check-ups in the workplace have similar benefits, and the annual health check-ups offered to employees at Japanese workplaces create an opportunity for oral health check-ups. During these check-ups, employees may receive recommendations to visit a dentist, but they do not always follow such advice.
This led us to wonder about the effects of dental consultations on oral health outcomes in people who undergo oral health check-ups. To understand more, we analyzed data from 3,351 male employees of a Toyota facility in Japan who underwent oral health check-ups between April 2008 and March 2013. We conducted statistical analyses to find out whether the number of times a man had visited the dentist in the year of the oral health check-up “predicted” his oral health status as determined during the oral health check-up.
Unsurprisingly, we found that dental consultations generally predicted better oral health outcomes. Compared with men who did not visit a dentist in the years of their oral health check-ups, those who visited a dentist up to four times during those years were less likely to have lost nine or more teeth, to have three or more decayed teeth, or to have deep periodontal pockets—spaces in which gums have separated from teeth. Also, men who had visited a dentist five or more times in the years of their oral health check-ups were actually more likely to be missing some of their teeth—but this would be due to men with poor oral health needing to visit the dentist frequently, not due to frequent dental care somehow increasing the risk of tooth loss.
Our findings confirm that there is an association between dental consultations and improved oral health in men; and this underscores the importance of dental consultations. Our findings are important because preventing tooth decay is a necessary component of any plan to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce health disparities.
Link to the original journal article:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/1348-9585.12104
Title of the paper:
Association between dental consultation and oral health status among male Japanese employees
Authors:
Yoshihiro Shimazaki, Toshiya Nonoyama, Yoshikazu Miyano, Yasushi Miyata, Kazuaki Hisada, and Tsuneyasu Nagasawa
