At an advanced age, hygiene and oral care measures should be taken to avoid frequent problems.
Age brings with it certain special care, also for the teeth. In elderly people, the most frequent problems are:
– dental caries (mainly in the neck and root of the tooth)
– periodontal disease
– oral cancer
– lack of saliva
– altered sense of taste
Treatment of oral problems in the elderly
As treatment, it is necessary to reinforce plaque control measures (interproximal brushes, irrigators, periodic oral cleanings), the use of fluorides (especially at the cervical level), salivary stimulation (most importantly, correct fluid intake), dietary advice, habit control (tobacco, alcohol) and correct adaptation of prostheses.
For the elderly, experts in Dentistry and Stomatology recommend extreme hygiene measures, and never use the mouth for purposes other than chewing or phonatory (do not open bottles or cut threads…) and, of course, in case of wearing removable prostheses, always remove them to sleep and keep them clean and in a dry and ventilated container.
Prevention of oral problems
To prevent these problems typical of an elderly mouth from appearing, or to delay their appearance, we should give the utmost importance to preventive treatments, mainly correct hygiene and the use of fluorides, and never forget the revision and adjustment of the prostheses in regular visits to the dentist (at least once a year).
In addition, it is important to emphasize and remember that whenever you find any lesion in the mouth (tongue, cheeks, lips …) should go to the dentist, especially if we observe that lasts more than 15 days without healing spontaneously. The dentist will try to determine the cause of the lesion and thus make it disappear, or diagnose it in time to be able to treat it as minimally invasive as possible.