Otsuma Women's University and Tokyo Dental University, which entered into an agreement in 2018 with the aim of contributing to extending healthy life expectancy in an aging society, jointly held a joint class on nutrition and oral dentistry.This collaborative class has been implemented since 2020 as the first attempt in Japan.
The joint class will be held at Otsuma Women's University, Faculty of Home Economics, Department of Food, Registered Dietitian Major, ``Nutritional Metabolism Practical'', a required subject.We held joint classes with Tokyo Dental University for 15 out of 3 classes aimed at training registered dietitians who have mastered dietary and nutritional intake methods and nutritional management appropriate for pathological conditions and disabilities. Two of the three sessions were held at Otsuma Women's University and consisted of practical training, lectures, experiments, and demonstrations of swallowing tests.This time, 3 second-year registered dietitian majors and 2 fourth-year students from Tokyo Dental University were divided into eight groups and took turns participating.
In the training session, which was held under the theme of ``Nutritious meals according to eating and swallowing function,'' the students learned how to take nutrition in response to the symptoms of dysphagia.Students from both universities were divided into mixed groups to prepare swallowing-adjusted food prepared by adjusting the consistency of drinks and food to several levels using gelling agents and thickening agents. The concentration of each thickness was measured.Afterwards, during the tasting, the participants experienced meal assistance and realized how difficult it is to work closely with patients, and they seemed surprised at how the taste changes depending on the texture.
Professor Mikiko Kawaguchi of the Department of Food Science, Faculty of Home Economics, who is the instructor in charge, explained the importance of preparing the food accurately and actually eating it, as instructed by a dentist and prepared by a registered dietitian. "This leads to advice for patients. I want them to think about how difficult it is to thicken food accurately, and how patients themselves and their caregivers feel about cooking and eating food."
After the lecture, a student commented, ``Through the three joint classes, I was able to learn how to approach things other than nutrition and the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, which I hope to utilize in my future learning.'' was asked.
