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Dear Dental Friends,
For the record, the main reason for tooth loss of our Senior Population is tooth decay and gum disease, the rate of occurrence approximately 50/50. Dental caries normally occur around the gum line and in between teeth around the roots of teeth.
Dental caries or cavities normally are due to dry mouth, poor oral hygiene, or bad diet. It is critical that all three problems are addressed simultaneously to prevent expensive dental treatment or actual tooth loss. Our mission is to analyze the causative factors and to point our patients into the right direction.
Gum disease is caused by two factors, systemic diseases such as diabetes, auto-immune diseases, and mental disorders such as Parkinson's Disease and dementia. The other factor is inability to remove causative bacteria potentially caused by lack of manual dexterity or incorrect tooth brushing. A minor contributor to gum disease is generalized breakdown of the immune system due to age.
We have treated Senior patients for over 20 years, and we are acutely aware of what methods to use on an individualized basis to keep our patients at the optimum oral health. We analyze diet, hygiene procedures, the patient's medical condition, and their prescription drug intake. Analyzing all these factors, we recommend treatment
We utilized the newest methods in dental materials to guarantee the best restorative results. We offer "mini"dental implants to stabilize loose lower dentures at a reasonable cost and offer most dental procedures at very reasonable prices.
SENIOR DENTAL CARE
Over the last 30 years, dentistry like medicine has moved into the direction of specialties. The specialties of pediatric dentistry (little children), oral surgery, endodontics (root canal treatment), and periodontics (gum specialty) have been formed. These specialties have evolved because the public has demanded more sophisticated services in order to preserve their oral health. The era of the "Dental Jack of all Trades" has come to an end.
Ironically, in this movement towards more sophisticated dental care, the specialty of geriatric dentistry (dentistry for seniors) has never evolved. There appears to be a perception amongst people and many health care professionals that the dental needs for seniors are no different than those for the rest of the population.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Many seniors are on a variety of medications that alter the composition of the microbial flora (micro-organisms) of the mouth. In turn, this change drastically affects the gum health and the rate of dental decay of this population. Some of these medications may also affect salivary flow causing partial or severe dry mouth in patients. This can lead to bad breath, discomfort in eating, gum disease, root caries (cavities around the necks of teeth), and generally a sore mouth. It is critical that dentists recognize this problem, consult with the patient's physician, and are able to make the patients more comfortable while on these medications.
Some drugs which are routinely used by dentists may have adverse affects on seniors because of the interactions of these drugs with other prescription drugs already used by patients. Dentists treating seniors must be aware of drugs most commonly taken by them and the interactions of these drugs with commonly used dental medications.
Since some seniors are more prone to health problems, it is important that dentists take health history updates more frequently and spend a little time discussing the patient's health before beginning dental treatment.
Dentists must be aware that certain dental materials are more advantages for seniors, and dentists should give them the option of using these materials over other materials commonly used by the profession. Further, dentists should prescribe drugs and medications to reduce the incidence of cavities and other oral complications common to seniors.
It appears that seniors have different dental needs and present with different dental problems. They should be treated by health care professionals who are aware or their special needs and who are willing and able to take care of them.
ORAL CANCER EXAMINATION FOR GERIATRIC PATIENTS
Most oral cancers discovered in the oral cavity are of the squamous cell type, they are highly aggressive, and have a very low survival rate if detected in an advanced stage. Of the 30,000 new cases discovered yearly, 2/3 occur in patients 65 years or older. Finally, early detection of squamous cell carcinomas increases the survival rate by over 80%.
Some of the risk factors of oral cancer are smoking (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco), alcohol, and local irritants. In the geriatric population, these risk groups playa higher role since the oral tissues may have been exposed to tobacco and alcohol for longer periods of time, and the local irritants are more numerous (ill fitting dentures, broken teeth, poor or broken dental restorations).
Because of these factors, older patients need oral cancer screenings on a regular basis. Unfortunately, most dental plans do not pay for this service. Most patients on a fixed income are unwilling to pay since they don't perceive a benefit. Finally, a large percentage of dental practitioners are either unwilling to perform this service as a public service or do not perceive that an oral cancer examination for this age group is important. For these reasons, a large percentage of senior patients never receive oral cancer screenings until they themselves experience oral discomfort causing them to seek the services of a physician or dentist.
Patients whose dentist does not offer new patient oral cancer screening and subsequent yearly cancer screenings might do their patients a disservice. Finally, patients should be in control of their dental destiny. They should ask their dentist to perform this necessary service if it is not included in the routine oral examination performed at the time of the dental recall visit.
Hope to hear from you in the future. We guarantee that you will have a very pleasant experience under our care.