Opinion | As Hong Kong’s population ages, attention to oral health will go a long way
- With review studies suggesting an association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment and dementia, and recent local research corroborating these findings, the urgent need to ensure the oral health of Hong Kong’s elderly is clear
The government’s primary healthcare blueprint notes that by 2039, an estimated 3 million people in Hong Kong will suffer from chronic diseases. The 2017 mental health review cited studies that put the number of Hong Kong residents with dementia at 100,000, a figure that is expected to triple to over 300,000 by 2039.
Systematic reviews of international studies suggest that tooth loss is independently associated with cognitive impairment and dementia, and the risk of cognitive decline increases with additional lost teeth. This is worrying as dementia, the seventh most common cause of mortality in Hong Kong, results in profound disability and stress on patients, caregivers and society.
There are three key explanations for how tooth loss can affect the brain. Having fewer teeth makes eating more difficult, especially chewing tougher foods, which could result in nutritional deficiencies and impaired cognition.