Poor oral health linked to cognitive decline, perceived stress,

Poor oral health is associated with decreased quality of life, depression, hypertension, and cognitive decline. Two Rutgers studies, co-authored by Darina Petrovsky, Bei Wu, and Weiyu Mao, and published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, explored the relationship between poor oral health and cognitive decline and the effects of perceived stress and social support on dry mouth among older Chinese Americans.

Researchers interviewed more than 2,700 Chinese Americans aged 60 and older and found that nearly 50 percent of study participants reported experiencing tooth symptoms, 25.5 percent reported dry mouth. In the first study, those who reported tooth symptoms experienced declines in cognition and episodic memory, often precursors to dementia. In the second study, the researchers found that stress increased symptoms of dry mouth, leading to poorer overall oral health.