Patients with mild cognitive impairment diagnosed at dementia clinic display decreased maximum occlusal force: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Previous research indicates that patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are more likely to have poor oral health and impairments in oral functions, which may be due to few remaining teeth and impaired tongue and lip motor function. However, the oral health of those patients following comprehensive cognitive assessment by a dementia specialist has not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the oral function of patients with MCI and the association between oral health and lower cognitive function. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 96 participants (men: 35; women: 61; mean age: 73.3 ± 8.5 years) who visited a dementia clinic between December 2017 and January 2020. Participants’ cognitive function was assessed by a dementia specialist using neuropsychological and hematological tests and neuroimaging immediately after enrollment. The participants were divided into the healthy and MCI groups according to comprehensive cognitive assessment. Participants’ age, sex, body mass index, primary disease, education level, drinking habits, smoking habits, living environment, employment status, and exercise habits were evaluated. Moreover, oral outcomes, including the number of existing teeth, number of functional teeth (natural and prosthetic teeth which were occluded with antagonists), denture use, oral dryness, tongue and lip motor function, tongue pressure, occlusal force, masticatory ability, and swallowing ability were recorded. The Mann–Whitney U test, χ(2), and Fisher’s exact tests were used for between-group comparisons. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis using MCI diagnosis as the target variable was performed. RESULTS: A comprehensive evaluation of the cognitive function of the study participants by the dementia specialist revealed that 48 participants (mean age: 69.8 ± 8.8 years) were healthy and 48 (mean age: 76.9 ± 6.7 years) had MCI. MCI participants were significantly older (p < 0.001) and had significantly fewer existing teeth (p = 0.031) and lower maximum occlusal force (p = 0.019) than healthy participants. Age (odds ratio: 1.126, p = 0.002) and maximum occlusal force (odds ratio: 0.978, p = 0.048) were significantly associated with lower cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MCI had poorer oral health than healthy individuals. Decreased maximum occlusal force was independently associated with lower cognitive function, even when adjusted for age and sex.