TY - JOUR
AU - A. K. Y. Chan
AU - J. C. Y. Hui
AU - L. L. Hu
AU - C. H. Chu
A1 - 
AB - The global population aged 65 and older is expected to double from 761 million in 2021 to 1.6 billion by 2050. Despite often being treated separately in clinical practice and policy, oral health and mental health are fundamentally interconnected in older adulthood, forming a bidirectional relationship that exacerbates disability, social inequity, and systemic healthcare challenges. This narrative review aims to summarize the two-way relationship between mental and oral health and emphasize their combined impact on systemic health, social engagement, and independence among ageing populations. The bidirectional relationship has profound clinical significance. Untreated oral diseases induce chronic pain and cause social embarrassment, aggravating pre-existing depression and anxiety. Periodontal disease can worsen systemic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dementia via a shared inflammatory pathway. Conversely, mental health issues-including depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, and the use of psychotropic medications-reduce motivation for oral care, prompt dental neglect, and affect salivary function, deteriorating oral health. Despite clear connections, systemic gaps persist, including fragmented healthcare systems, financial barriers, stigma, lack of awareness, and caregiver burnout. To address these challenges, strategies such as developing integrated care models to unify dental and mental health services, reforming policies to prioritize oral and mental health parity, advocating anti-stigma campaigns to clear the misconceptions, and implementing community-based healthcare programmes to reach underserved older adults are essential. By recognizing oral health as a vital component of mental resilience, societies can transform ageing into an era of empowered well-being, where the mouth-mind connection promotes holistic health rather than functional decline.
AD - Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
AN - 41562791
BT - Geriatrics (Basel)
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
CP - 1
DA - Jan 5
DO - 10.3390/geriatrics11010008
DP - NLM
ET - 20260105
IS - 1
JF - Geriatrics (Basel)
LA - eng
N2 - The global population aged 65 and older is expected to double from 761 million in 2021 to 1.6 billion by 2050. Despite often being treated separately in clinical practice and policy, oral health and mental health are fundamentally interconnected in older adulthood, forming a bidirectional relationship that exacerbates disability, social inequity, and systemic healthcare challenges. This narrative review aims to summarize the two-way relationship between mental and oral health and emphasize their combined impact on systemic health, social engagement, and independence among ageing populations. The bidirectional relationship has profound clinical significance. Untreated oral diseases induce chronic pain and cause social embarrassment, aggravating pre-existing depression and anxiety. Periodontal disease can worsen systemic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and dementia via a shared inflammatory pathway. Conversely, mental health issues-including depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, and the use of psychotropic medications-reduce motivation for oral care, prompt dental neglect, and affect salivary function, deteriorating oral health. Despite clear connections, systemic gaps persist, including fragmented healthcare systems, financial barriers, stigma, lack of awareness, and caregiver burnout. To address these challenges, strategies such as developing integrated care models to unify dental and mental health services, reforming policies to prioritize oral and mental health parity, advocating anti-stigma campaigns to clear the misconceptions, and implementing community-based healthcare programmes to reach underserved older adults are essential. By recognizing oral health as a vital component of mental resilience, societies can transform ageing into an era of empowered well-being, where the mouth-mind connection promotes holistic health rather than functional decline.
PY - 2026
SN - 2308-3417
ST - The Mouth-Mind Connection: Interplay of Oral and Mental Health in Older Adults
T1 - The Mouth-Mind Connection: Interplay of Oral and Mental Health in Older Adults
T2 - Geriatrics (Basel)
TI - The Mouth-Mind Connection: Interplay of Oral and Mental Health in Older Adults
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.3390/geriatrics11010008
VL - 11
VO - 2308-3417
Y1 - 2026
ER -