Effect of Implant Treatment and/or Dietary Advice on the Nutrition of Edentulous Ageing Subjects

Complete edentulism or presence of a terminal dentition that is functionally compromised in an irreparable way represent the end of the spectrum of caries and periodontitis, eventually leading to loss of masticatory function. These subjects tend to show change in their diet behavior choosing softer diets with higher carbohydrates and fat and less fresh fruit and vegetables. Accumulating evidence points to the presence of an association between changes in dietary behavior consequent to tooth loss and insufficient nutrition intake. Such impaired nutrition may have long term effects on muscle strength and physical decline, and be detrimental to general health. Indeed, the recent GBD study of dietary risk factors identifies 15 important disease associated exposures. Their analysis shows that 5 of the health associated exposures: consumption of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fiber require a good level of mastication. While the physiology of mastication is an essential component of alimentation and contributes to the broader process of nutrition, a more holistic approach is needed to properly establish the scientific basis of the contribution of oral health to nutrition and healthy ageing. Assuming a potential cause-effect relationship between the inadequate food choice consequent to tooth loss and compromised nutrition intake, several studies have tried to improve the nutrient intake among edentulous individuals with various types of dentures. However, this goal has not been readily achieved with either complete denture or implant-retained overdenture, given the function limitation on these prosthesis and the lack of dietary intervention. A small-scale case series has shown that implant-supported fixed prosthesis resulted in more efficient mastication and improved nutrient intake compared with conventional and implant-based removable dentures in partial edentulism. However, no evidence is available regarding the effect of re-establishment of masticatory function with an implant-supported fixed prosthesis in edentulous patients. Moreover, with the increasing evidence suggesting a positive impact of nutrition counselling on the dietary intake, brief dietary advice has been advocated to help patients make full use of the enhanced masticatory function to improve their diet. Ellis et al. further showed that the impact of dietary advice on patient's satisfaction with dentures and oral health-related quality of life depends on the nature of the prosthesis. No trial has been performed to assess the benefit of dietary advice only or the combined effect of re-establishment of masticatory function with an implant-supported fixed prosthesis and dietary advice in edentulous elderly subjects. This is a 2 × 2 factorial clinical trial aimed to assess the effect of rehabilitation of masticatory function with fixed implant supported dentures and simultaneous diet re-education on the diet intake and nutrition in ageing subjects with terminal dentition (stage IV periodontitis) or full edentulism.