The Oral Health Needs of Older People in General Medical Practice: An Overview

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 614-619
Author(s):  
Arijit Ray-Chaudhuri ◽  
Ryan C. Olley ◽  
Rupert S. Austin ◽  
Jennifer E. Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Natural Teeth ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

As the UK population ages and older people retain their natural teeth for longer, the complexity of the oral health needs in older people is becoming more challenging. Older patients are often registered with a GP and will increasingly be likely to require dental care. Older people in particular may benefit from dental care but may not have a dentist or perceive any risk of oral disease. This article therefore provides practical insight into the oral health management of older people to assist in addressing their oral health needs.

Too old to sedate: How old is too old?

Dental Update ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-113
Author(s):  
Natalie Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
General Anaesthesia ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Clinical Relevance ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Anxiety Control ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Dental Work

The UK population is ageing with over a quarter of people predicted to be over 65 by 2040. People are retaining their teeth into old age, often having experienced complex restorative dental work over the years. The increasing complexity of dental treatment that older people require will create challenges for those who provide care for this population, including dental treatment under sedation or general anaesthesia. This article discusses the medical, dental and social considerations that need to be taken into account when planning dental care for older patients under sedation or general anaesthesia. CPD/Clinical Relevance: Dentists who provide sedation must be able to appropriately assess and manage their older patients safely if considering this method of pain and anxiety control for dental treatment.

Oral Disease Prevention for Older People

2011 ◽  
Vol os18 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupert S Austin ◽  
Ryan C Olley ◽  
Arijit Ray-Chaudhuri ◽  
Jennifer E Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Preventive Care ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Professional Issues ◽  
Dental Health Survey ◽  
Oral Disease Prevention

This opinion paper reviews trends in oral disease and its management in older people, in response to a challenge, in an editorial in The Lancet, to the traditional curative model of dentistry and the publication of the most recent Adult Dental Health Survey. It highlights the challenge of an ageing population and its oral health needs and management. Professional issues in relation to preventive care are discussed with emphasis on the importance of identifying patient risk and providing preventive care, together with improving the uptake of dental care among older people.

scholarly journals Poor oral health and the association with diet quality and intake in older people in two studies in the UK and USA – CORRIGENDUM

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Eftychia Kotronia ◽  
Heather Brown ◽  
A. Olia Papacosta ◽  
Lucy T. Lennon ◽  
Robert J. Weyant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
The Uk

"Six-month recall dental appointments, for all children, are (un)justifiable"

2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Anthonappa ◽  
Nigel King
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Insufficient Evidence ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Dental Practitioner ◽  
Dental Professionals ◽  
Dental Appointments

Each child is an individual with specific needs, which necessitates a different plan of management based on the type of oral disease or disability present. This raises a question as to whether the customary fixed sixmonth recall visits for children commonly advocated by dental professionals need to be altered/adjusted so as to reflect the individual's oral health needs more closely, in order to optimize their clinical and costeffectiveness. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the evidence to either justify or refute the sixmonth recall dental appointments for all children. Based on the available evidence, we conclude that the judgment about appropriate intervals should be made by the dental practitioner on an individual risk basis as insufficient evidence exists to either justify, or refute the six-month recall dental appointments.

The Impact of Dementia on Oral Health and Dental Care, Part 1: Setting the Scene for Dental Care Provision

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Kerr ◽  
Charlotte Curl ◽  
Andrew Geddis-Regan
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Care Provision ◽  
Care Environment ◽  
Oral Pain ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

There are over 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK and this figure is expected to rise to over a million by 2021. Increasingly, oral healthcare professionals in primary care will see more patients affected by dementia at varying stages of the disease, and it is therefore crucial that they have a basic understanding of the disease and how these patients can be managed in a primary care environment. The first article in this series of two provides a definition of dementia and describes the symptoms of the disease along with the key issues related to oral health, such as oral pain. Oral pain can have far reaching consequences, but identifying it can be problematic, particularly in the latter stages of the disease. This article will therefore cover how to diagnose pain in patients with dementia. Information is also provided about how to make dental surgeries more ‘dementia friendly’.

Designing clinical networks to manage the oral health of older people

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-122
Author(s):  
Vanita Brookes
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Clinical Networks ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Older Citizens

The UK has an ageing population. The population of older people is increasing in both absolute and relative terms, with older people forming a larger proportion of the population. In 1984, 15% of the population was over 65. By 2034 this will increase to 23%. Between 2009 and 2034 the number of people over the age of 85 is projected to more than double, accounting for 5% of the total population by that time.1 Dental clinical networks can, and no doubt will, play a major role in caring for our older citizens.

Shining a light on care homes during the COVID 19 pandemic in the UK 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-228
Author(s):  
Annie Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older People ◽  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Human Rights Act 1998 ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between age discrimination and the injustices that have taken place in our care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic in this country. It seeks to show how destructive age discrimination is to those who live in our care homes and attempts to shake up our attitudes to older people, as the pandemic continues. It is hoped that shifts in attitude would lead to a societal revolution in care and support for older people as the pandemic shows us how the current system is breaking down. Design/methodology/approach This is a personal insight into the plight of the care home sector during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. The writer has worked in the field of social care and older people’s services for many years and felt compelled to share her learning and observations. This led to venturing more deeply into understanding why those who live, work and visit care homes have been so neglected and “cast into the shadows” in the face of such desperate danger. Whilst tracking the media narrative during the first wave, she attempts to apply her knowledge, in particular gained from working for Help the Aged (now Age UK) as a policy manager for Quality Care, but also draws on experiences as a social worker, commissioner and care provider from the 1980’s to the present. By “shining a light” on care homes, revealing that the darker practices that have taken place contravene the Human Rights Act 1998, it is hoped that the recognition of age discrimination will happen at every level and become better known in its application. The paper observes how deeply rooted it is in us all. Findings Having highlighted some shocking examples of bad practice from the authorities relating to care homes, the article concludes that Government policy on care homes from March to July 2020 was discriminatory and questions how far lessons have been learned. The legislation is in place in the form of the Human Rights Act 1998 to protect older people in care homes but is not being widely implemented at regional policy level. Government rhetoric remains far from reality Instead of redressing the gap and admitting mistakes, there is evidence at a high level of continued denial and the projection of blame on to the care homes themselves. Originality/value The author’s professional background includes meeting the founder of the Gray Panthers, Maggie Kuhn, in the United States in the 1988. This was a defining moment that gave her an original insight into age discrimination and influenced her entire career. It eventually led to her working in national policy for one of the most influential charities for older people at the turn of the millennium, Help the Aged. Here, she co-founded the My Home Life Programme (promoting quality of life in care homes). The paper offers a unique insight into why it is so challenging to achieve quality of life for older people needing care and should be of interest to policymakers, clinical commissioning groups, local authorities, older people’s care providers and carer and user organisations.

Geriatric Dentistry and Prevention: Research and Public Policy (Reaction Paper)

1991 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Meyerowitz
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Systemic Disease ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Oral Disease ◽  
Geriatric Dentistry

The population of older adults is heterogeneous and can be divided into many subgroups: the young-old, the old-old, the healthy, the sick, the frail, the mentally and physically handicapped, the ambulatory, the chair-bound, house-bound or institution-bound, and the economically advantaged and disadvantaged. This diversity is extremely important to the discussion of the oral health needs, preventive health strategies, and research agenda for the elderly. As life expectancy increases, more attention is being paid to disease prevention so that the quality of life in old age can be improved. However, the link among oral health, systemic disease, and quality of life in the elderly needs to be better-defined. There is some evidence in the literature that indicates that coronal and root caries appear to be major health problems for the elderly. This needs to be corroborated in longitudinal studies. Although periodontal disease prevalence and severity are high in some subgroups of the elderly, these appear to be in decline in the general population. Dental health-care workers must be cognizant of the oral conditions associated with systemic disease and the use of medication, a major concern in older adults. Prevention of oral disease in the elderly requires early intervention, education of the dental health team, and innovative uses of well-established preventive agents such as fluoride. An extensive research effort is needed to answer basic and applied questions regarding the oral health needs of the elderly. Federal and private funding will be necessary. The dental profession will have to demonstrate and be persuasive that money spent on research and care for the elderly is money well spent.

scholarly journals Estimate of Impact on the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Older Thai People by the Provision of Dentures through the Royal Project

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patcharawan Srisilapanan ◽  
Narumanas Korwanich ◽  
Sutha Jienmaneechotchai ◽  
Supranee Dalodom ◽  
Nontalee Veerachai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Oral Impact ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Natural Teeth ◽  
Oral Impacts

Purpose.To estimate the impact of the provision of dentures to Thai older people by the Royal Project on their oral health-related quality of life.Methods.A purposive cross-sectional study of a sample of 812 subjects was conducted. The Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (OIDP) measure was used to assess the oral health-related quality of life.Results.Four groups of older people with different tooth types were studied. 216 (26.6%) had natural teeth (NT). 189 (23.3%) had natural and replaced teeth (NRT). 167 (20.6%) had below the minimum number of teeth but had no dentures (Edent) and 240 were edentate with complete dentures provided by the Royal Project (ECD) (29.6%). Overall, 36.5% had at least one oral impact. Eating was the most affected oral impact. When compared to the group with natural teeth (NT), the Edent group was significantly more likely to report having impacts on eating OR = 6.5 (3.9–10.9), speaking clearly OR = 43.7 (12.7–15.07), emotional stability OR = 16.5 (6.0–45.6), and social contacts OR = 4.6 (2.2–9.5) (p<0.001).Conclusion.Those who are edentulous are much more likely to have an oral impact on their daily performances than those provided dentures. Provision of dentures may lead to improvement of considerable oral impacts.

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