Tohoku University
Graduate School of Dentistry

Research

Rehabilitation DentistryAging and Geriatric Dentistry

In contrast to the remarkable increase of life expectancy in present-day Japan the oral health of the elderly has barely improved in the recent years. For example, the “8020” motion has hardly closed in on its goal despite having started over 20 years ago. While it is reasonable that oral and dental health concentrates on emphasizing mouth hygiene as the main cause of tooth loss, odontonecrosis and periodontal disease are both caused by infections, and so it is obvious that we need some new measures given the unsatisfying present condition of our patients.

In this field, while we pursue the connection of oral and systemic health through large-scale longitudinal epidemiological research, we also study and research effective methods of maintenance and recovery of oral functions for the elderly through health intervention  that strictly follows dental and oral health policies. There is no doubt that the ability to coordinate diverse fields such as medical care, nursing and human service will be highly sought in the field of dental health in the near future. Through the practice of medical care in and out of hospital, we are exploring concrete and realistic ways to merge these fields in clinical practice.

Staff

Topics of Research

  • Analysis of causal relationship of oral and systemic health through large-scale cohort study.
  • Development of new evaluation methods of oral functions in response to diverse modalities.
  • Research of characteristics of oral functions and their change with age.
  • Study of improvement in dental care for the elderly through a multidisciplinary approach.

Recent Publications

(2020)

  1. Takamasa Komiyama, Takashi Ohi, Yoshitada Miyoshi, Yasutake Tomata, Shu Zhang, Ichiro Tsuji, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Verification of the criteria for reduced occlusal force to diagnose oral hypofunction in older Japanese people: A prospective cohort study on incident functional disability. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 2020 May 19. doi: 10.1111/joor.13021.
  2. Takamasa Komiyama, Takashi Ohi, Takako Hiratsuka, Yoshitada Miyoshi, Yasutake Tomata, Shu Zhang, Ichiro Tsuji, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms lead to biases in self-evaluated masticatory performance among community-dwelling older Japanese adults: the Tsurugaya Project. Journal of Dentistry, 2020 Jun 6:103403. doi: 10.1016/j.jdent.2020.103403.

(2019)

  1. Takamasa Komiyama, Takashi Ohi, Yasutake Tomata, Fumiya Tanji, Ichiro Tsuji, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Dental status is associated with incident functional disability in community-dwelling older Japanese: a prospective cohort study using propensity score matching. Journal of Epidemiology, 2019 Jan 25.
  2. Nao Furukawa, Yoshihiko Ito, Yasue Tanaka*, Wakana Ito, Yoshinori Hattori. Preliminary exploration for evaluating acuity of oral texture perception. Journal of Texture Studies, 2019 Mar 13; 1-7.
  3. Gaku Ohwada, Shunsuke Minakuchi, Yusuke Sato, Hisatomo Kondo, Taro Nomura, Akito Tsuboi, Guang Hong, Yoshihiko Itoh, Yasuhiko Kawai, Suguru Kimoto, Atsuko Gunji, Asako Suzuki, Tetsuya Suzuki, Katsuhiko Kimoto, Noriyuki Hoshi, Makiko Saita, Yoshikazu Yoneyama, Yohei Sato, Masakazu Morokuma, Joji Okazaki, Takeshi Maeda, Kenichiro Nakai, Tetsuo Ichikawa, Kan Nagao, Keiko Fujimoto, Hiroshi Murata, Tadafumi Kurogi, Kazuhiro Yoshida, Masahiro Nishimura, Yasuhiro Nishi, Mamoru Murakami, Toshio Hosoi, Taizo Hamada. Subjective evaluation of denture adhesives: A multicenter randomized controlled trial. JDR Clinical & Translational Research, 2019 Apr 11:2380084419837607. doi: 10.1177/2380084419837607.
  4. Takashi Ohi, Takamasa Komiyama, Yoshitada Miyoshi, Takahisa Murakami, Akito Tsuboi, Yasutake Tomata, Ichiro Tsuji, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. The association between bilateral maximum occlusal force and all-cause mortality among community-dwelling older adults: The Tsurugaya project. Journal of Prosthodontic Research, 10.1016/j.jpor.2019.08.005.
  5. Takako Hiratsuka, Takamasa Komiyama*, Takashi Ohi, Fumiya Tanji, Yasutake Tomata, Ichiro Tsuji, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Contribution of systemic inflammation and nutritional status to the relationship between tooth loss and mortality in a community-dwelling older Japanese population: a mediation analysis of data from the Tsurugaya Project. Clinical Oral Investigations, 10.1007/s00784-019-03072-y. Accepted 30 August 2019, First Online 04 September 2019
  6. Yasuhiro Nishi, Taro Nomura, Mamoru Murakami, Yasuhiko Kawai, Masahiro Nishimura, Hisatomo Kondo, Yoshihiko Ito, Akito Tsuboi, Guang Hong, Suguru Kimoto, Atsuko Gunji, Asako Suzuki, Gaku Ohwada, Shunsuke Minakuchi, Yusuke Sato, Tetsuya Suzuki, Katsuhiko Kimoto, Noriyuki Hoshi, Makiko Saita, Yoshikazu Yoneyama, Yohei Sato, Masakazu Morokuma, Joji Okazaki, Takeshi Maeda, Kenichiro Nakai, Tetsuo Ichikawa, Kan Nagao, Keiko Fujimoto, Hiroshi Murata, Tadafumi Kurogi, Kazuhiro Yoshida, Toshio Hosoi, Taizo Hamada. Effect of denture adhesives on oral moisture: A multicenter randomized controlled trial. Journal of Prosthodontis Research 2019 Sep 6. pii: S1883-1958(19)30311-1. 10.1016/j.jpor.2019.08.004.
  7. Tsuyoshi Fujii, Satoshi Yamaguchi*, Yul-wan Sung, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Correlation between changes in the transverse relaxation time and electromyographic measurements of the superficial masseter and temporal muscles. Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences, Article ID: tn.2019-0035, 10.2463/mrms.tn.2019-0035.

(2018)

  1. Satoshi Yamaguchi, Chika Okada, Yoshihiko Watanabe, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Analysis of masticatory muscle coordination during unilateral single-tooth clenching using muscle functional magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 2018 Jan; 45(1): 9―16.
  2. Feng Luo, Guang Hong, Hiroyuki Matsui, Kosei Endo, Qianbing Wan, Keiichi Sasaki. Initial osteoblast adhesion and subsequent differentiation on zirconia surfaces are regulated by integrins and heparin-sensitive molecule. Int J Nanomedicine, 2018 Nov 19; 13: 7657-7667.
  3. Takashi Ohi, Takamasa Komiyama, Yoshitada Miyoshi, Takahasa Murakami, Akito Tsuboi, Yasutake Tomata, Ichiro Tsuji, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Maximum Occlusal Force and Incident Functional Disability in Older Adults: The Tsurugaya Project. JDR Clinical & Translational Research, 2018 Apr; 3(2): 195―202.
  4. Shigeto Koyama, Takeshi Fuji, Takashi Ohi, Kenji Kadowaki, Nobuhiro Yoda, Keiichi Sasaki. Practice-Based Longitudinal Study of Multifactorial Risk Assessment for Periodontal Condition and Survival of Remaining Teeth in Patients with Removable Partial Dentures. International Journal of Prosthodontics, 2018 September/October; 31(5): 502-8.
  5. Sho Saito, Takashi Ohi, Takahisa Murakami, Takamasa Komiyama, Yoshitada Miyoshi, Kosei Endo, Michihiro Satoh, Kei Asayama, Ryusuke Inoue, Masahiro Kikuya, Hirohito Metoki, Yutaka Imai, Takayoshi Ohkubo, Yoshinori Hattori. Association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older Japanese adults: Association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older Japanese adults: a 4-year prospective cohort study from the Ohasama study. BMC Oral Health, 2018 Aug 20; 18(1): 142.
  6. Takamasa Komiyama, Takashi Ohi, Yoshitada Miyoshi, Takahisa Murakami, Akito Tsuboi, Yasutake Tomata, Ichiro Tsuji, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Relationship between status of dentition and incident functional disability in an elderly Japanese population: prospective cohort study of the Tsurugaya Project. Journal of Prosthodontic Research, 2018 Oct; 62(4): 443―448.

(2017)

  1. J Liu, G Hong, YH Wu, Kosei Endo, JM Han, H Kumamoto, T Wada, H Kato, P Gao, Keiichi Sasaki. A novel method of surface modification by electrochemical deoxidation: Effect on surface characteristics and initial bioactivity of zirconia. J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2017 Nov; 105(8): 2641―2652.

(2016)

  1. Chika Okada, Satoshi Yamaguchi, Yoshihiko Watanabe, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Evaluation of masticatory activity during unilateral single tooth clenching using muscle functional magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 2016 Aug; 43(8): 583―590.
  2. Minoru Takahashi, Satoshi Yamaguchi, Tsuyoshi Fujii, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Contribution of each masticatory muscle to the bite force determined by magnetic resonance imaging using a novel metal-free bite force gauge and an index of total muscle activity. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2016 Oct; 44(4): 804―813.
  3. Takamasa Komiyama, Takashi Ohi, Yoshitada Miyoshi, Takahisa Murakami, Akito Tsuboi, Yasutake Tomata, Ichiro Tsuji, Makoto Watanabe, Yoshinori Hattori. Association between tooth loss, receipt of dental care, and functional disability in an elderly Japanese population: The Tsurugaya Project. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2016 Dec; 64(12): 2495-2502.

Laboratory Contacts

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Research