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Introduction to Gerodontology: Demography, Epidemiology, and Access to Dental Care

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Gerodontology Essentials for Health Care Professionals

Part of the book series: Practical Issues in Geriatrics ((PIG))

Abstract

The percentages of elderly individuals within their respective populations are increasing worldwide due to an increase in life expectancy and the falling fertility rates, but there continues to be a high variability in different world regions. The fact that multimorbidity, frailty, and care-dependency tend to increase with ageing means nevertheless that many will spend their last years living with disease and disability. Maintaining physical and mental well-being and high quality of life as well as building supportive environments for elderly citizens have become important goals for physicians and healthcare administrators. Oral health is an important, although neglected, element composing the general framework of overall health and well-being of elderly individuals. Oral health in older people, which tends to be quite poor, is linked to many physical and psychosocial functions such as chewing, biting, swallowing, tasting, speaking and communicating, smiling, appearance, aesthetics, and self-esteem, and it is an important part of the socialisation process. The most vulnerable, frail, and care-dependent persons tend to have higher rates of dental caries, periodontal disease, severe tooth loss, xerostomia, and oral cancer. Although most chronic oral diseases are largely preventable and treatable, various factors preclude keeping teeth and mouth healthy during old age. These include: care-dependency, socio-economic considerations, limited access to dental care and to professional assistance, as well as poor oral hygiene practices. Educational interventions addressing healthcare providers’ knowledge about oral health, appropriate oral health policy action plans, as well as citizen empowerment and involvement can each and all promote oral health in old age. From this perspective, the role of interprofessional collaborative healthcare teams and particularly of non-dental healthcare providers in promoting oral health can be considered crucial.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Anastassia Kossioni

  2. National Research Council, Neuroscience Institute-Aging Branch, Padova, Italy

    Stefania Maggi

Authors
  1. Anastassia Kossioni
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  2. Stefania Maggi
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Correspondence to Anastassia Kossioni .

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  1. School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Anastassia Kossioni

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Kossioni, A., Maggi, S. (2020). Introduction to Gerodontology: Demography, Epidemiology, and Access to Dental Care. In: Kossioni, A. (eds) Gerodontology Essentials for Health Care Professionals. Practical Issues in Geriatrics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41468-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41468-9_1

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