Association between number of teeth, dental prostheses, and self-reported dysphagia in brazilian old people: a population-based study

ABSTRACT Purpose To investigate the association between the number of permanent teeth and the use of removable dental prostheses with self-reported dysphagia occurrence in individuals aged 60 years or older. Methods A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 5,432 old individuals who participated in the baseline of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Elderly Health (ELSI-Brazil). The outcome "dysphagia" was associated with the number of permanent teeth and the use of removable dental prostheses. Sociodemographic independent variables (age, sex, and race/ethnicity) and clinical history variables (no morbidity, one morbidity, or more than two morbidities) were analyzed using Poisson Regression with robust variance and their respective 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results The prevalence of self-reported dysphagia in non-institutionalized old individuals was 30%. The group of old individuals with 10 – 19 natural teeth showed a 52% increased risk of self-reported dysphagia complaint (PRadj 1,565 IC95% 1,34;1,826) compared to their counterparts with more teeth. Conclusion An association was found between a lower number of teeth and removable prostheses with the occurrence of dysphagia.