LAUSR

BACKGROUND Denture use for recovery of major tooth loss can reduce the need for care, and thus, it is important for dentists to identify the types of patients that use removable dentures. OBJECTIVE To identify factors associated with removable denture use in independent older Japanese people. METHODS This cross-sectional study investigated the oral condition; demographics; lifestyle; dental visit behavior; and higher-level functional capacity, as assessed using the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology index of competence (TMIG index), of independent older people aged 65-74 years. Participants were divided into four groups based on sex and condition of the posterior occluding pairs (POPs). Multivariate adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed for each group, with denture use or non-use as the dependent variable and the other items as independent variables. RESULTS Denture use or non-use was significantly associated with only dental consultation behavior (regular dental visits and time since the last dental visit) in all groups. Subsequent analyses excluding dental consultation behavior demonstrated that denture use or non-use was significantly associated with educational background in female participants with decreased POPs, with the type of household in male participants with lost POPs, and with the TMIG index (social role) in female participants with lost POPs. CONCLUSIONS Denture use was associated with dental consultation behavior. We revealed factors related to denture use or non-use in females with decreased POPs and both males and females with lost POPs.