Maeda K, et al. - In this retrospective observational analysis among 624 consecutive geriatric patients in an acute care hospital, researchers intended to define in-hospital mortality by evaluating poor oral health utilizing a validated tool. The participants were classified into three categories according to oral health, stratified by the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) scores. As covariates, nutritional status, daily living activities, cognitive impairment, and comorbidities were obtained. The study sample had a mean age of 83.8 ± 7.9 years and comprised 41% males. Higher mortality was seen in patients in the OHAT score ≥ 3 group vs those in the other groups. Poor survival was seen among patients in the OHAT score ≥ 3 group even following adjustment for confounders in Cox’s regression analysis. Based on these findings, experts concluded that in-hospital mortality in geriatric patients is independently predicted by poor oral health at hospital admission.