J Oral Med Pain.  2024 Dec;49(4):124-134. 10.14476/jomp.2024.49.4.124.

Changes in Salivary Parameters, Halitosis, Oral Health, and Systemic Disease with Increasing Age

• Seo S
• Kim TS
• Lee YH

• KMID: 2563844
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14476/jomp.2024.49.4.124

Abstract

Purpose
The elderly population in South Korea is steadily increasing, ushering in the super-aging era and emphasizing the need for oral health management. This study aimed to investigate changes in salivary flow rate, salivary buffer capacity, halitosis, oral health, and systemic diseases with age.
Methods
This study was conducted retrospectively from August 2020 to May 2023, including 274 patients (66 males, 208 females; mean age 59.39±16.10 years) presenting with xerostomia or halitosis.
Results
For salivary parameters, no significant differences were observed in unstimulated salivary flow rate, stimulated salivary flow rate, salivary pH, or buffer capacity across age groups (all p>0.05), contrary to expectations. Regarding halitosis, methyl mercaptan levels were significantly associated with age (p=0.049), though patients in their 20s exhibited the highest levels. Volatile sulfur compound levels showed a strong correlation with subjective halitosis (r=0.621, p<0.001). In terms of oral health, increased age was significantly associated with tongue coating (r=0.205, p=0.001). Among systemic diseases, hypertension (p=0.001) and diabetes (p=0.010) showed significant differences across age groups. The drug that showed a statistically significant correlation with increasing age was amlodipine (r=0.249, p=0.001), a widely used antihypertensive agent. Amlodipine usage was significantly associated with oral hygiene issues, sticky saliva, calculus deposition, and tongue coating (all p<0.05). The results highlight the changes in salivary parameters and other oral and systemic factors with age, along with their interrelationships.
Conclusions
These findings provide valuable insights to aid clinicians in developing optimal treatment plans for xerostomia and halitosis and in effectively managing oral health in the elderly population.

Keyword

Age; Aging; Halitosis; Oral health; Salivary flow rate; Systemic disease