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Preventive dentistry for the elderly
Author(s) -
Mandel Irwin D.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
special care in dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.328
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1754-4505
pISSN - 0275-1879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.1983.tb01323.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dentistry , periodontal disease , disease , oral hygiene , restorative dentistry , tooth loss , elderly people , oral health , gerontology , pathology
SUMMARY Preventive dentistry for the elderly must be concerned with the four levels of prevention: initiation of disease, progression and recurrence, loss of function, and loss of life. The areas of greatest pertinence to the elderly are: caries, erosion and abrasion, periodontal disease, special considerations in restorative dentistry, oral cancer, systemic diseases with oral manifestations, and hazards within the dental office. The major problem in preventive dentistry has been the tendency by many practitioners to view it in a very narrow way, as essentially plaque control. I n many offices it is relegated to a separate alcove, taking on the trappings of a religious rite. To be effective, preventive dentistry has to be the philosophic base of a dental practice. Similarly, dentistry for the elderly should not be considered as the palliative treatment of terminal oral disease. We must recognize that there are a range of clinical entities and multiple levels of prevention as well as treatment. Elderly people have many needS. We have the capability of serving them with an ordered set of responses that recognize both the communality and the special aspects of their oral concerns.