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Training for the future: issues in geriatric dentistry
Author(s) -
Sinkford Jeanne C.
Publication year - 1989
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.1754-4505.1989.tb01034.x
Subject(s) - geriatric dentistry , medicine , geriatrics , curriculum , gerontology , population ageing , oral health , quality of life (healthcare) , population , dentistry , family medicine , nursing , psychiatry , psychology , pedagogy , environmental health
The following report was presented during the October regional meeting of the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry in Washington, DC. The needs for dentists who specialize in geriatric dentistry and dental curriculum in geriatrics are discussed, together with issues that face dental educators in geriatric dentistry. Summary Aging of the population presents a special challenge to dentists, considering that 75 % of the patients that current students will treat at the height of their dental careers will be 65 or older. Students must be taught the difference between oral health care for older persons and such care for younger persons. They must understand the physical, social, and behavioral changes that are often combined with debilitating effects of acute and chronic diseases in older persons. The needs to increase the number of advanced training programs in geriatric dentistry, upgrade undergraduate geriatric curriculum, and stimulate research to enhance the quality of life of older persons have been the focal points here.