Most studies about the relationships between dental status and eating difficulty and food choice have been done in Western countries. Their foods and methods of preparation differ from Eastern countries. Therefore, studies are required in countries such as China to assess whether the findings are universal.;Hypothesis: Clinical dental status significantly affects eating difficulty and oral health-related quality of life in older Chinese people.;The main objectives were to: 1. Develop an Index of Eating Difficulty (IED) 2. Assess prevalence and severity of eating difficulties and relationship between clinical dental status and eating difficulties, and 3. Assess prevalence and severity of oral impacts on oral health-related quality of daily life and the relationship between clinical dental status and oral health-related quality of life using the Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (OIDP) measure of impact.;Methods: The study was done in Nanning city, Guangxi province, China. Subjects were 1229 older people aged 55 to 100 years from the Routine check-ups Centre of Guangxi Medical University Hospital. Subjects were clinically examined and replied to questionnaires. The IED based on Chinese foods was developed and validated. The OIDP was validated.;Findings: 51.8% of dentate subjects had general eating difficulty. Ease of eating certain foods was related to the numbers of teeth, occluding pairs and unfilled spaces. There were significant relationships between clinical dental status and IED in both unadjusted and adjusted models. Clinical dental status was also significantly related to general eating difficulty and dissatisfaction with chewing ability. There were significant relationships between clinical dental status and the overall OIDP score as well as the prevalence of the OIDP eating impact.;Conclusions: The findings of this research support the hypothesis of this study and indicate that clinical dental status significantly influenced eating difficulty and quality of life in a sample of older Chinese population in Guangxi province, China
