Sandra Saunders, RDH, MPH, Dental Hygiene Program, SENIOR Project, University of Rhode Island, 8 Washburn Hall, Kingston, RI 02881-2001, 401-874-4095, s.saunders@uri.edu, Mary L. Greaney, PhD, Cancer Prevention Research Center, University of Rhode Island, 2 Chafee Road, Kingston, RI 02881, and Geoffrey Greene, PhD, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Rhode Island, Ranger Hall, Kingston, RI 02881.

Oral health can affect the diversity of food selection, especially foods that require chewing such as fruits and vegetables. Many older adults eat less than the daily recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. Thus, analyses were conducted to determine if oral health and digestive concerns influence consumption of fruits and vegetables. The sample (n =964) had all participated in a community-based health promotion project designed to promote exercise and fruit and vegetable consumption among older adults and had completed the final 24-month assessment. Participants were mostly white (71.8%, n = 687), high school graduates (n = 762, 80%), and had a mean age of 77.4 years (SD = 6.7). More than half (n = 571, 59.7%) reported having dentures. Participants who reported having one of the following conditions: problems with dentures, bleeding sore gums, sore tongue, dry mouth, tooth ache, missing teeth, stomach or bowel problems were classified as having oral or digestive concerns. In total, 420 (43.6%) participants were classified as having oral health and/or digestive concerns. Chi square analyses determined oral health and/or digestive concerns was significantly associated with stage of change for fruit and vegetable consumption (X2 = 6.86, df = 1, p < .01). Additional analyses determined that participants who had oral health or digestive concerns consumed fewer servings of vegetables (p = .017), servings of fruit (p < .01), and had lower self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable consumption (p < 0.001) than participants without oral health and/or digestive concerns. Implications for health promotion and education will be discussed.

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