Bridging Oral Health and Integrated Care: A Scientometric Study of Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) and Removable Prosthodontics in Older Adults.

Abstract

Population aging has shifted healthcare priorities from disease-centered models towards functional ability and quality of life. The WHO Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) framework operationalizes healthy aging through assessment of intrinsic capacity (IC), yet oral health and prosthodontic rehabilitation remain underrepresented. This study aimed to map and analyze the scientific literature linking ICOPE with removable prosthodontics, focusing on intrinsic capacity, oral function, and functional outcomes in older adults. A bibliometric search was conducted in Scopus (ICOPE OR "Integrated Care for Older People" OR "WHO ICOPE" OR "intrinsic capacity") AND ("removable prosthodontics" OR "removable dental prostheses" OR dentures OR "removable partial denture*" OR "complete denture*") AND (PUBYEAR >2016 ) AND PUBYEAR <2027 AND (LIMIT-TO {SUBJAREA, "MEDI"} OR LIMIT-TO {SUBJAREA, "NURS"} OR LIMIT-TO {SUBJAREA, "DENT"} OR LIMIT-TO {SUBJAREA, "HEAL"}) AND (LIMIT-TO {DOCTYPE, "ar"} OR LIMIT-TO {DOCTYPE, "re"}) AND (LIMIT-TO {LANGUAGE, "English"}), limited to January 31, 2026, and restricted to English-language peer-reviewed articles in medical, nursing, dental, and health sciences. Data extracted covered study characteristics, participant demographics, thematic focus, and citation metrics, with studies classified by design. Thematic focus included IC assessment, oral function/prosthodontics, nutrition/frailty, and quality of life. Coauthorship and term clustering analyses were performed using VOSviewer (Leiden, The Netherlands: Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University) to visualize collaborative and conceptual networks. Thirteen studies were identified. European studies emphasized clinical assessment, prosthodontics, and policy; Asian studies focused on malnutrition, IC transitions, and functional decline. The following four clusters emerged: (1) ICOPE and IC; (2) oral function and frailty; (3) removable prosthodontics and quality of life; (4) cognitive and psychosocial outcomes. Oral hypofunction and tooth loss were associated with IC decline, frailty, and HRQoL, whereas prosthodontics improved masticatory function, nutrition, psychosocial well-being, and cognition. Integrating oral health and removable prosthodontics into ICOPE frameworks may enhance early detection of functional decline and promote healthy aging.