Practice and challenge of age-friendly functional restoration of stomatognathic system based on the strategy of functional tooth loss.

Yiting CHENG; Yi MAN; Yang LIU; He CAI; Ran CHENG; Li CHENG; Fanglong WU; Hongkun WU; Fanyuan YU; Xueyang LIAO; Yimin SUN; Jing WANG; Xue YANG; Jinyi ZHU; Xingqun CHENG; Zumu YI; Ling YE; Tao HU

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Practice and challenge of age-friendly functional restoration of stomatognathic system based on the strategy of functional tooth loss.

Author: Yiting CHENG ¹ ; Yi MAN ¹ ; Yang LIU ¹ ; He CAI ¹ ; Ran CHENG ¹ ; Li CHENG ¹ ; Fanglong WU ¹ ; Hongkun WU ¹ ; Fanyuan YU ¹ ; Xueyang LIAO ¹ ; Yimin SUN ¹ ; Jing WANG ¹ ; Xue YANG ¹ ; Jinyi ZHU ¹ ; Xingqun CHENG ¹ ; Zumu YI ¹ ; Ling YE ¹ ; Tao HU ¹
Author Information

1. State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Frontier Innovation Center for Dental Medicine Plus & West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: functional restoration; healthy aging; masticatory function; multimorbidity; stomatognathic system; tooth loss
MeSH: Humans; Tooth Loss/therapy*; Aged; Stomatognathic System; Oral Health; Dental Care for Aged; Dental Restoration, Permanent/methods*
From: West China Journal of Stomatology 2025;43(1):15-27
CountryChina
Language:English
Abstract: Geriatric oral health care encounters significant challenges with the increase in the proportion of older individuals. Age-related changes in the dentition, muscles, and joints result in a decline in objective masticatory function, subjective restoration requirements, and acceptability among the elderly population, with individual variations influenced by systemic health. Considering functional requirements, the adaptability of stomatognathic and systemic health conditions, health economics and other factors, the authors believe that it should not be limited to the conventional "one-to-one" strategy for replacing missing teeth in geriatric prosthodontics. There is an urgent need for a precise and adaptable restoration strategy that is more suitable for older individuals. The proposal of a new concept of functional tooth loss updates the minimal restoration standards for elderly patients and establishes the theory of age-friendly functional restoration. Based on the restoration strategy of functional tooth loss, this paper proposes a new concept termed "age-friendly functional restoration of the stomatognathic system", which integrates treatment considerations including endodontics, periodontology, mucosa, muscles, temporomandibular joint, and systemic health. Efforts should be made in four areas as follows. Firstly, the "assessment of accessible function" should be enhanced by considering the interrelationship between stomatognathic and systemic health. Secondly, the "evaluation of appropriate function" is supposed to be optimised in view of subjective needs and objective evaluation of the stomatognathic system. Moreover, the "formulation of treatment plans" needs to be accomplished with the aid of assistive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to accurately exert appropriate functional restoration. Lastly, the "management and maintenance of health" is likely to be strengthened through follow-ups, propaganda and education, and preventive healthcare, so as to improve quality of life and ultimately achieve healthy ageing among older individuals.