Design diagram of this study.

Background

Secondary healthcare data use has been increasing in the dental research field. The validity of the number of remaining teeth assessed from Japanese dental claims data has been reported in several studies, but has not been tested in the general population in Japan.

Objectives

To evaluate the validity of the number of remaining teeth assessed from Japanese dental claims data and assess its predictability against subsequent health deterioration.

Methods

We used the claims data of residents of a municipality that implemented oral health screening programs. Using the number of teeth in the screening records as the reference standard, we assessed the validity of the claims-based number of teeth by calculating the mean differences. In addition, we assessed the association between the claims-based number of teeth and pneumococcal disease (PD) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in adults aged ≥65 years using Cox proportional hazards analyses.

Results

Of the 10,154 participants, the mean number of teeth assessed from the claims data was 20.9, that in the screening records was 20.5, and their mean difference was 0.5. During the 3-year follow-up, PD or AD onset was observed in 10.4% (3,212/30,838) and 5.3% (1,589/30,207) of participants, respectively. Compared with participants with ≥20 teeth, those with 1–9 teeth had a 1.29 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17–1.43) or 1.19 (95% CI: 1.04–1.36) times higher risk of developing PD or AD, respectively.

Conclusion

High validity of the claims-based number of teeth was observed. In addition, the claims-based number of teeth was associated with the risk of PD and AD.