Oral frailty and its determinants in older age: a systematic review

Summary: Poor oral health is common among older adults and can impair essential activities of daily living and contribute to frailty. We did a systematic review of studies on the relationship between oral health factors and frailty among older adults (>60 years), consulting six different electronic databases for studies published from database inception to March 20, 2021. In total, 39 articles met the eligibility requirements, including 12 different indicators of poor oral health related to frailty, which we grouped in four different categories: oral health status deterioration; deterioration of oral motor skills; chewing, swallowing, and saliva disorders; and oral pain. Factors of oral health status deterioration (52%), in particular few remaining teeth (29%), were most frequently associated with frailty. Reduced oral motor skills (27%), especially masticatory function (9%), oral diadochokinesis (5%), occlusal force (7%), and chewing, swallowing, and saliva disorders (20%), especially chewing difficulties [11%]), were less frequent but were similarly considered to be associated with frailty. Our findings could help to assess the contribution of each oral health item to a possible operational definition of this novel frailty phenotype, defined as an age-related gradual loss of oral function together with a decline in cognitive and physical functions.