Abstract
Changing demographics, including an increase in life expectancy and the growing numbers
of elderly, has recently focused attention on the need for geriatric dental care.
Ageing affects oral tissues in addition to other parts of the human body, and oral
health (including oral mucosa, lips, teeth and associated structures, and their functional
activity) is an integral component of general health. Oral disease can cause pain,
difficulty in speaking, mastication, swallowing, maintaining a balanced diet, not
to mention aesthetical considerations and facial alterations leading to anxiety and
depression. Certain strategies should be adopted for improving oral health of the
elderly, including the management and maintenance of oral conditions, which are necessary
for re-establishing effective masticatory function. Oral health is often neglected
in the elderly and oral diseases associated with aging are complex, adversely affecting
the quality of life. Although majority of oral health problems are not usually associated
with mortality, nearly more than half of the deaths due to oral cancer occur at an
age of 65 years plus. This review of geriatric dentistry, which is dedicated to geriatric
physicians, geriatric dentist and specialists in oral medicine, emphasizes on age-related
oral changes in elderly patients and efforts to summarize the effects of aging in
hard and soft oral tissues.
Keywords
Dental care - elderly - gerodontology
