Amount and type of alcohol consumption and missing teeth among community-dwelling older adults: findings from the Copenhagen Oral Health Senior study

Karen Heegaard, Kirsten Avlund, Poul Holm-Pedersen, Ulla A Hvidtfeldt, Allan Bardow, Morten Grønbaek

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: To study if an association between total weekly intake of alcohol, type-specific weekly alcohol intake, alcoholic beverage preference, and the number of teeth among older people exists.

Methods: A cross-sectional study including a total of 783 community-dwelling men and women aged 65-95 years who were interviewed about alcohol drinking habits and underwent a clinical oral and dental examination. Multiple regression analyses were applied for studying the association between total weekly alcohol consumption, beverage-specific alcohol consumption, beverage preference (defined as the highest intake of one beverage type compared with two other types), and the number of remaining teeth (=20 versus >20 remaining teeth).

Results: The odds ratio (OR) of having a low number of teeth decreased with the total intake of alcohol in women, with ORs for a low number of teeth of 0.40 [95 percent confidence interval (CI) 0.22-0.76] in women drinking 1-14 drinks per week and 0.34 (95 percent CI 0.16-0.74) in women with an intake of more than 14 drinks per week compared with abstainers. Similar relations could also be obtained for type-specific alcohol intake of wine and for wine and spirits preference among women. Men who preferred beer showed a decreased risk for a low number of teeth compared with men with other alcohol preferences.

Conclusion: In this study, alcohol consumption, wine drinking, and wine and spirits preference among women were associated with a higher number of teeth compared with abstainers. Among men, those who preferred beer also had a higher number of teeth.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Public Health Dentistry
Volume71
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)318-326
Number of pages9
ISSN0022-4006
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011

Keywords

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Alcohol Drinking
  • Alcoholic Beverages
  • Beer
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Denmark
  • Educational Status
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Income
  • Independent Living
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Population Surveillance
  • Sedentary Lifestyle
  • Sex Factors
  • Smoking
  • Social Class
  • Temperance
  • Tooth Loss
  • Wine

Cite this