Dental Care for the Aging Patient

Abstract

Dentists and their medical colleagues must approach old patients as they would younger ones. They should not accept loss of teeth as a physiologic process associated with aging but should strive to prevent dental caries and periodontal diseases, the major causes of loss of teeth.

Communities should provide equipment through hospitals or clinics for dental care of home bound patients. Even the edentulous patient should have regular oral examinations to prevent some of the deaths caused by oral cancer.