Rehabilitation of lost teeth related to maintenance of cognitive function

Objective As the era of aging comes, cognitive impairment (CI) is increasing. The impact of rehabilitation of lost tooth on CI remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether non-rehabilitated lost teeth (NRLT) is associated with CI among Korean elders. Methods A total of 280 elders comprising of 140 cases and 140 age-sex-matched controls were included in this cross-sectional study. CI was assessed using the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). NRLT was evaluated using panoramic radiograph and oral examination. NRLT was categorized into low (<= 4) and high (>= 5). Age, sex, education, drinking, smoking, exercise, obesity, hypertension, subclinical atherosclerosis, glucose, cholesterol, depression, and denture-wearing were considered as confounders. Conditional multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the adjusted association. Results NRLT was associated with increased CI after controlling for confounders (odds ratio [OR] = 1.06, 95% confidence interval [95% CFI]: 1.00-1.13). However, lost teeth were not associated with CI. Those with high NRLT (>= 5) compared to those with low NRLT (<= 4) was more likely to have CI by 2.7 times (OR = 2.74, 95% CFI = 1.28-5.86). Conclusion Our data showed that NRLT was independently associated with CI. Hence, rehabilitation of the lost teeth could be important for the maintenance of cognitive function.