Colonization of the Tongue Surface in Japanese Independent Elders: A Preliminary Study

Oral care is important to decrease oral bacteria, especially in the dependent elders. There have been some reports on oral microflora in the dependent elders. However, investigations involving healthy independent elders are limited. The purpose of this study was to obtain more information on the microflora in Japanese independent elders. One hundred Japanese independent elders aged 65 years or older participated in this study. Eighty-one independent elders (male: 44, female: 37, mean age: 72.7 ± 5.8) participated in this study. Their mean Barthel Index was 99.1 ± 3.1, and mean score of MMSE was 28.0 ± 2.3. The tongue bacterial flora was examinved to identify microorganisms by the culture method. The predominant aerobic organisms were Streptococcus spp. (detection rate: 100%), Neisseria spp. (96%), and Corynebacterium spp. (56%). Candida spp. was also isolated (32%). In this study, the oral microflora of the tongue in Japanese independent elders was clarified. The results of this investigation may contribute to research on oral bacteria in elder persons in the future