Oral Health
Seniors have specific oral health needs. Meeting those needs requires an increase in personal hygiene, an improvement in lifestyle habits, and an increase in oral health service use. When these core needs are met, the specific oral health issues that affect seniors can be minimized, leading to improved health outcomes. Increasing personal hygiene requires shifts in attitudes toward oral health care, access to information, and access to affordable oral health care tools that are designed specifically for seniors. Lifestyle habits have a tremendous impact on oral health. Diet, smoking status, and drug and alcohol use are all factors that impact oral health. Accessing oral health services is difficult for many seniors. Some may live in rural areas where accessing oral health is physically difficult. Others may not be covered. In fact, most seniors do not have insurance coverage for oral health care. Not being able to afford oral health care is a major reason why seniors do not access oral health services. Therefore, expanding insurance coverage to include oral health is a critical component of addressing the health needs of seniors.
Aging leads to changes in the composition and amount of saliva, as do medications that many seniors may be taking. Dry mouth, or xerostomia, is a common complaint among seniors. Cavities, halitosis, and tooth loss are also issues that may impact all patients but can have serious implications for seniors. The most important oral health needs in older patients include the following.
Changing Attitudes Changes Behaviors
Attitudes toward oral health care impacts the amount of time and energy an individual spends on daily hygiene practices. Similarly, attitudes toward oral health services will impact the actual number of times the person will visit the dentist. Changing the attitudes of seniors regarding oral health can help them address the critical need of improving oral hygiene in their daily lives. In addition to affordability, seniors may avoid the dentist due to fear of pain or fear of detecting a serious disease.
More Frequent Visits
Seniors need to visit the dentist more for regular checkups, screenings for oral cancer and decay, and for ensuring that dentures and other prosthetics fit properly. Ironically, the patients who need oral health services the most are not accessing them. According to Vargas, Kramarow & Yellowitz (2001), 75% of edentulous persons only visit the dentist "when needed," about twice as many as dentate individuals (p. 5). Minority patients are also half as likely to avail themselves of oral health services than their white counterparts (Vargas, Kramarow & Yellowitz, 2001). The higher a person's level of educational attainment, the more likely they are to use dental services (Vargas, Kramarow & Yellowitz, 2001). Therefore, socio-economic class is critical factor in oral hygiene, and can be considered a risk factor for developing specific diseases. Minority patients need to visit the dentist more often.
More Affordable Care
All patients need more affordable dental care. Seniors especially need more affordable dental care because they have more frequent and pressing needs related to oral health. The vast majority (79%) of dental visits are paid out of pocket, as only 22% of seniors over the age of 65 are covered for dental care (Vargas, Kramarow & Yellowitz, 2001). Until the situation is remedied through policy changes, seniors can find out about dentists who offer low-cost services to those who need them ("7 Oral Health Concerns Most Common in Seniors," 2014).
Information and Education; Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks
The way to inform and educate seniors depends on the individual, and his or her communication styles and preferences. Some seniors may prefer to read about oral health on their own, via pamphlets, books, or the Internet. Others may want personalized discussions with health care workers like dentists, dental assistants, or nurses. Some seniors may prefer classroom settings. Language and culture will also determine how the individual is educated regarding oral health.
The more teeth seniors keep, and the more seniors keeping more teeth, means that it is more important than ever before to educate seniors as to proper oral health habits like brushing and flossing. As many as one-third of seniors over the age of 65 have lost all their teeth, although this number has been steadily declining due to improvements in access and use of oral health services (Vargas, Kramarow & Yellowitz, 2001). Ironically, though, the more teeth seniors keep, the more likely they are to experience caries and other problems (Lamster, 2004). Seniors are actually more at risk for developing dental caries, or cavities, than children are ("7 Oral Health Concerns Most Common in Seniors," 2014;...
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