HUBUNGAN ANTARA KEMAMPUAN FUNGSI KUNYAH DENGAN COATED TONGUE PADA INDIVIDU LANSIA YOGYAKARTA: Kajian pada Warga Panti Jompo di Yogyakarta

Chewing ability is a process to breaks down foods so it�s ready to be digest. An impairment of chewing ability might be seen in elderly due to degeneration process such as temporomandibular joint alteration, decreasing number of remaining teeth and mastication muscle atrophy. Inability to chew lead to food selection changes to softer food diet. Soft foods are not able to abrade debris and other materials from dorsal surface of the tongue. It will decreasing knocked off of keratin in tongue dorsum. This condition may result coated tongue. The aim of this study was to know the relationship between chewing ability and coated tongue on elderly in Yogyakarta. This obsevational analytic study with cross sectional approach was conducted in three nursing homes in Yogyakarta. The sample were selected by using consecutive sampling technique. A total of 92 subjects that fulfill of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The assessment of chewing ability was conducted using modification from Index of Chewing Ability by Leake and the assessment of coated tongue was conducted using Zhimizu Tongue Coating Index. The data was analyzed by Spearman Rank Correlation ( =0,05). In this study showed that chewing ability decrease with an ageing but the density of coated tongue increased. Statistic analysis indicate that there are a significant, strong, and negative correlation between chewing ability and coated tongue (p=0.00