Age-friendly oral health care: A scoping review and conceptual framework for integrating dentistry into healthy ageing

Purpose: Oral health is increasingly recognized as a key component of healthy ageing, yet it remains insufficiently integrated into age-friendly health systems. To map existing evidence on oral health in older adults and propose a conceptual framework for age-friendly oral health care.Methods: A scoping review was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta- Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. A PubMed search identified 708 records (April 18, 2026). After applying filters (last 10 years, ≥ 65 years, human studies), 247 records remained. Following thorough screening, 52 studies were included and thematically analyzed.Results: The included studies showed consistent associations between oral health and functional outcomes, frailty, and quality of life. Functional oral health, particularly mastication and dentition, emerged as a key determinant of healthy ageing. However, the evidence was fragmented, and no study proposed an integrated framework linking oral health to age-friendly health systems.Conclusion: The concept of age-friendly oral health care is proposed to bridge this gap and align dentistry with broader ageing frameworks. Establishing this concept may support more coherent policy development and integrated care for older adults.