Geriatric dentistry – meet the need

Abstract

Geriatric dentistry -meet the needGeriatric dentistry or gerodontics is the delivery of dental care to older adults involving the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of problems associated with normal ageing and age-related diseases as part of an inter-disciplinary team with other health care professionals. Geriatric health is an ignored and underexplored area worldwide. Oral health reflects overall well being for the elderly population. Conversely, elderly patients are more predisposed to oral conditions due to age-related systemic diseases and functional changes. The major barriers to practising geriatric dentistry are the lack of trained faculty members, a crowded curriculum and monetary concerns. For successful treatment, the practitioner must adopt a humanitarian approach and develop a better understanding of the feelings and attitudes of the elderly. Prevention and early intervention strategies must be formulated to reduce the risk of oral diseases in this population. In future, dental professionals must have a proper understanding of the magnitude of the services to be provided to the elderly. This could only be realised through an education programme in geriatric dentistry, which should be started without further delay. This article hence sets out the objectives, needs, present scenario, strategies and types of dental treatment required by the elderly population.

An ageing population poses dental challenges

“…This perception is also reflected in dentists' general reluctance to treat (and low interest in treating) older people residing in long-term care facilities [40,47]. Dental professionals regard providing such a service as a minimal financial gain and this lack of competence, confidence and interest must be addressed by adequate training in the area of gerodontology so that the older population in need can be served [48]. Undergraduate education is the seedbed for conscientious professionals [49], and it is therefore important to place S i n g a p o r e D e n t a l J o u r n a l 3 5 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 3 -8 appropriate emphasis on oral health care for older patients in the undergraduate curriculum [50][51][52][53].…”

Salivary Flow Rate, Oral Yeast Colonization and Dental Status in Institutionalized and Non-Institutionalized Elderly

“…Some are unable to live independently as a result of their age and/or disease, and require institutionalization in long-term care facilities 1,2 . Multiple systemic diseases and their treatments can impair oral health and, consequently, the quality of life of an elderly person [3][4][5] . Th e most common oral diseases among the elderly are dental caries, tooth loss, gingivitis, periodontitis, decreased salivary fl ow, candidiasis, and oral cancer 2,6 .…”

Nutrition Consideration and Oral Health Care for Edentulous Patients

“…Some people may not consume some foods that are good sources of dietary fiber due to problems with their teeth or dentures. 10 Makwana et al 11 evaluated the nutritional status in dentulous and edentulous denture-wearing elderly patients and found that risk of malnutrition was eight times higher in edentulous as compared with dentulous subjects. To sum up, there are profound and complex links between nutrition and oral health .…”