Let’s start with the so-called “five fortunes”. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture, the five blessings are the desirable conditions of life, which are derived from the Hongbeom section of the Confucian scripture, the Book of Songs.
There are five blessings: susu, which refers to universal longevity as a human being; bubu, which refers to material wealth; kangnyeong, which refers to peace of mind; yuho, which refers to the virtue of being kind to others; and gojongmyeong, which refers to fulfilling one’s social calling and ending one’s life in an orderly manner.
However, if you search the internet, you can easily find expressions like “the best of the five blessings is a healthy mouth” or “teeth are the best of the five blessings”.
In my brief research, I was unable to find a source in scripture or literature, but I did find the phrase “bodily misbehavior” on the internet.
In a modern context, it is understood to mean that strong teeth are important alongside a healthy digestive system, eyes, ears, and bowel movements, and so the phrase “strong teeth” is often used today without much resentment.
The health of your teeth has a huge impact on your quality of life. If you’re in pain, it can affect your ability to eat meat and other foods, as well as decrease your happiness in everyday life.
And in countries like South Korea, where access to low-cost, high-quality dental care is limited, poor dental health can lead to a lower standard of living.
I chipped a tooth five years ago while dining in the United States while chewing on a dry bacon chip that came as a salad topping.
I found a friend of a friend and got a “10% referral discount” and paid $1700 to be exact. That’s almost $2.5 million in our money. I don’t remember drinking a single cup of coffee that month.
This is true for young people who are still in the prime of life, but for older people who have retired from the workforce, teeth are a matter of survival. This is why, in countries with poor dental access, it’s not uncommon to see people with empty front teeth.
A European acquaintance of mine is preparing to return to his country this summer after being diagnosed with a tooth that needs endodontic treatment in the U.S., which can cost up to $6000 per tooth.
In this context, an article published by the Japan Times on May 5 about the link between teeth and mortality risk in the elderly is of interest. The article cited large-scale studies conducted by researchers at Osaka Public University and Tokyo University of Science, respectively.
According to the newspaper, a large-scale study conducted by researchers at Osaka Public University and Tokyo University of Science and Technology, respectively, found that poor oral health in older adults is strongly associated with increased mortality and the need for long-term care.
Researchers from Osaka Public University analyzed data from 192,282 people aged 75 and older in Japan who had dental checkups between 2018 and 2020. They found that seniors with no teeth left had a 1.7 times higher risk of death than those with 21 or more teeth.
Untreated tooth decay can impair mastication, lead to chronic inflammation, and affect overall physical health and nutrition, the researchers analyzed.
The study is in the same vein as the 8020 Campaign, a long-standing Japanese campaign that encourages people to keep at least 20 teeth until age 80, the media outlet said. The 8020 Campaign is a Japanese health campaign that began in 1989, 37 years ago today.
The idea is to improve the quality of life for older adults by keeping their teeth in good shape. The percentage of seniors with 20 teeth at age 80 has risen from 10% in 1989 to 61.5% as of July this year, the newspaper said.
“We hope that our findings will encourage early treatment and regular dental care,” said Naoko Otsuki, a lecturer at Osaka Public University who led the study.
Jun Aida and colleagues at the Tokyo University of Science analyzed the impact of declining oral function on longevity. They followed 11,080 elderly people across Japan for six years.
The researchers believe that oral frailty can be defined by the presence of three or more of the following symptoms: a low number of remaining teeth, difficulty chewing and swallowing, and dry mouth or difficulty pronouncing words.
These symptoms can cause older adults to eat less food, reduce physical fitness and social interaction, and more, which can accelerate health deterioration in older adults, he explains.
The Tokyo University of Science study found that older adults with oral decline had a 1.23 times greater risk of needing long-term care and a 1.34 times greater risk of death than those without.
The study also found that older adults with oral decay had a healthy life expectancy at age 65 that was 1.4 to 1.5 years shorter than those without. People who visit the dentist regularly can live one year longer than those who don’t, the study concluded.
In fact, the only way to maintain good oral health is to take care of your teeth and have regular checkups. It’s easy to find advice from dentists on personal care.
WTAP, a local station in Ohio that is part of the U.S. media group Gray TV, recently shared oral health tips for the new year. Some of the basics include brushing your teeth for 30 seconds on each side of your mouth, flossing in your car, and making sure to brush all the way to the gum line.
Dr. Anna Hayton emphasizes in a broadcast interview that you shouldn’t just brush above the gum line when brushing.
“One of the most common issues patients have is not brushing far enough to the gumline,” he says, “Removing plaque from the gumline can prevent gum inflammation.” It’s also important to floss consistently.
Ohio dentist Jonathan Gore also emphasized the importance of natural teeth care on the show.
“People take them for granted, but there is no substitute for natural teeth,” he explains. The idea that keeping your teeth for life without having them removed is the greatest of the five blessings is a value that is taken for granted in both the East and West.
Writer. Hyuntaek Lee
A former newspaper reporter who worked for 18 years at The New York Times and . She is currently working as a freelance contributor and planning the second act of her life. In addition to journalism, she has worked in broadcast public relations and marketing at JTBC and Edelman Global Advisory in the United States. He is the recipient of a U.S. State Department Fulbright Humphrey Fellowship and a Google Asia-Pacific Newsroom Leadership Fellow.
