"The authors studied the relationship between oral functions and mental and physical functions focusing on Dentistry and Gerontology. The objective was to investigate whether elderly people without teeth or dentures showed a decline in daily living abilities, cognitive functions, and/or feeding performance skills. Seventy-eight elderly people were evaluated in terms of remaining teeth and denture use, and degrees of care needed, HDS-R, FIM, and feeding performance skills. The results show that regardless of the amount of food consumed, relationships exist between having no teeth or dentures and declines in degree of care needed, HDS-R, and performances skills. The findings suggest that it is important for occupational therapists to focus on dental health, especially in terms of dental hygiene practices and denture use, with the elderly (and demented in particular) for whom oral hygiene and attaching and detaching dentures is difficult."Ah, I thought, this explains why she is always complaining about my oral health. It relates to my feeding performance skills.
In other Yoko-related news, the wedding has been moved up for the last time (fingers crossed) to July 8th to coincide with midterms at Meikun. This should give me more time with my family when they come out out to Japan. We also are talking about going to India for our honeymoon provided, as the Yoko insisted, there is a place she can do laundry.