Tongue coating index as a risk factor of decline of taste sensitivity in the elderly population

The elderly had various oral health issues, one of which is taste sensitivity. Taste sensitivity highly affected by a person’s health, medication, eating habits, nutritional status, and hygiene. As an important organ for the sense taste, tongue can be covered in white coating debris, bacteria, dead cells. To clean coating, do brushing procedure, but this practice not common among elderly, especially Indonesia. This cross-sectional study involved 114 older adults (n= 114) Special Region Yogyakarta (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta- DIY), Indonesia, who were selected using stratified random sampling. participants first signed informed consent before undergoing interview going through clinical examination. research particularly measured index level way statistically analyzing both variables to determine correlation between three-dropmethod. Data from subjects presented descriptively table graphic. Most 90.53% (103 subjects) coated with degree. statistic showed significant (p-value = 0.019) coefficient was -0.216, means that there negative weak both. Elderly higher tended have less could due debris blocking buds, thereby reducing