Factors That Influence the Judgment of Oral Management Necessity in Preoperative Oral Screening.

Oral management during the perioperative period is important to prevent the development of postoperative complications. However, there are no unified systems to examine the oral status of patients and very few studies have focused on preoperative oral screening. In this study, we examined the oral status of patients who underwent oral screening at a University Hospital. A total of 1173 patients who underwent oral screening for perioperative management from April 2020 to July 2021 were enrolled. The subjects' medical data were retrospectively extracted from the dental records, and finally, the data of 1081 patients aged ≥20 years were analyzed. Oral screening based on seven categories was performed by dentists or dental hygienists. Our cumulative results determined whether patients required oral management during the perioperative period. "Poor oral hygiene" was the most frequent category (24%) of all oral categories examined. Logistic analysis revealed that tooth mobility had the highest odds ratio (21.476; 95% confidence interval: 11.462-40.239; p < 0.001) for oral management necessity during the perioperative period. Our study suggests that poor oral hygiene is most frequently observed in preoperative oral screening. Moreover, tooth mobility in preoperative oral screening may influence the judgment of oral management necessity during the perioperative period.

Age-related changes in oral tactile and thermal sensation throughout adulthood.

Although the life expectancy of women is over 80 years in many countries, oral sensation has scarcely been compared between adults ≥ 80 years and younger age groups. The purpose of this study was to clarify age-related changes in oral sensation throughout adulthood. After exclusion of individuals with factors that might have confounded somatosensory performance, 123 female participants were divided into four age groups: 20-39 years, 40-59 years, 60-79 years, and 80-96 years. Perceptions of tactile and thermal sensations were examined at points on the anterior and posterior palate, anterior and posterior tongue, lower labial-attached gingiva, lower lip, and buccal mucosa; two-point discrimination was examined only on the tongue. The tactile and two-point discrimination thresholds for the anterior and posterior tongue were significantly higher in the 80-96-year-old group than in any other age group (p < 0.05). The tactile threshold for the buccal mucosa was significantly higher in the 80-96-year-old group than in the 60-79-year-old group (p < 0.05). The percentage of participants able to perceive a warm stimulus (50 °C) in the buccal mucosa was significantly lower in the 80-96-year-old group than in the 20-39-year-old group (p < 0.05). Only the topography of the warm sensation perception changed with age. This cross-sectional study suggests that oral tactile and thermal sensation for warm stimuli deteriorates with age in a site-specific manner, especially after the age of 80 years, but the same does not occur with cool stimuli.