Relationship between Oral Health Status and Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Older People: A Systematic Review

The purpose of this review is to investigate the relationship between oral health status and oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) in older people and to collect a list of oral health indicators that can enable carers and health professionals to screen for risk of dysphagia in older people during oral examinations. A systematic review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocol (PRISMA-P 2015) guidelines. The analysis methods and inclusion criteria were documented in a protocol published in the Prospective International Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under the registration number CRD42020140458. A total of 19 articles published between 2002 and 2020 were retained by the search criteria for the qualitative synthesis. Eighteen studies demonstrated at least one positive association between an oral health component (dental, salivary and/or muscular) and dysphagia. This review highlights that oral health and OD are associated but was not able to determine causality. The lack of scientific evidence could be explained by the observational approach of the majority of the studies and the irrelevant choice of oral health indicators. A relationship may exist between oral health and dysphagia, but this review highlights the lack of valid and standardized oral health indicators that would be needed to assess the impact of oral health on the overall health status of individuals.