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In aging society like Japan, maintaining the quality of life (QOL) is an important objective. The oral cavity has various significant functions that contribute to the QOL. Elderly people are susceptible to the swallowing disorders owing to various factors associated with advancing age. In such cases, mealtime assistance can provide elderly persons appropriate eating situations. Thus, mealtime assistance skills are essential for students in nursing and caregiver education. Recently, simulation education has attracted attention as an effective educational process for nursing and caregiver students before their clinical practice in a hospital or care house. In this educational process, a patient model that mimics specific symptoms called the simulation model, is used to learn the symptoms and its care process in the same clinical environment as actual. We have attempted to develop several oral care simulation models, and we have earlier developed a prototype of mealtime assistance simulation model. This simulation model had a tongue model with a sensor system to detect spoon motions, and its fundamental functions were evaluated via spoon detection experiments. Based on the earlier achievements, in this study, we develop an evaluation system of feeding skill using a spoon. The pressing force and position by spoon on the tongue model were estimated by transfer functions derived from experiments. In addition, we developed an algorithm that leads students' spoon position and pressing force in the correct position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral care is crucial to preventing diseases and maintaining the quality of life of elderly people. To create an effective training environment for nursing students, we developed a second prototype of an oral care simulator that can guide and record oral care practices. The simulator has three components: (1) a dentition model with pressure sensors, (2) a microcomputer to record signals, and (3) software for visualization. We proposed a novel mechanism to detect brushing behavior using pressure sensors and developed software to visualize the records of oral care practice. We calibrated the system to estimate the weights applied in the dentition model using a brush and verified that the calibration increased the accuracy of the estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Serum albumin is considered a key nutrient that is significantly related to general health among elderly persons. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between masticatory ability and serum albumin levels in the elderly. Methods: A total of 768 persons were enrolled in the study. Data on background factors and the self-assessed masticatory ability were collected by means of questionnaires. An intraoral examination was performed to examine the pattern of occluding pairs of natural teeth, and blood samples were collected from the cutaneous vein to measure serum albumin levels. A forward stepwise multivariate logistic model was constructed with serum albumin levels as the dependent variable and the self-assessed masticatory ability as the principal independent variable, to adjust for potential confounding variables. Results: Sex, current employment status, social interaction, and self-assessed masticatory ability were retained in the final model, and they were significantly associated with serum albumin levels. The odds ratios for lower levels of serum albumin (≤ 40 g/L) were 1.88 for males, 1.70 for non-working status, 1.55 for low social activity status, and 1.43 for the self-assessed impairment of masticatory ability. Conclusion: A weak, statistically significant relationship may exist between self-assessed impairment of masticatory ability and lower levels of serum albumin in the elderly living independently. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To show relationships between oral conditions and physical performance in the elderly living independently., Methods: A total of 821 persons participated. Data on background factors and self-assessed masticatory ability were collected by means of questionnaires. An intraoral examination was performed to examine the pattern of occluding pairs of natural teeth. Handgrip strength and one-leg standing time with eyes open were measured. Step-wise linear regression models were conducted with muscle strength or one-leg standing time as the dependent variables; the pattern of occluding pairs and self-assessed masticatory ability as the principal independent variables., Results: The self-assessed masticatory ability was retained in the final model of the step-wise regression for the handgrip strength, and significant relationships were established in the participants aged 65-74, but the pattern of occluding pairs was not retained. The pattern of occluding pairs, and the self-assessed masticatory ability were retained in the final models for the one-leg standing time, and significant relationships were shown here., Conclusion: The self-assessed masticatory ability may be significantly related to muscle strength and static balance function, and the pattern of occluding pairs may be significantly related to the static balance function, particularly in the elderly aged 65-74.