Oral health in later life

Abstract

Advancements in various societies have resulted in a steady increase in populations with many persons living longer lives. These achievements should be coupled with an improvement and maintenance of older persons’ health, and associated quality of life. Dentistry is also reflecting these trends with a larger number of older people retaining more of their natural dentitions, and eliciting more interest in the ageing mouth (Muller, Naharro, & Carlsson, 2007). These outcomes are the results of advances in the various disciplines of dentistry with particular emphasis in the areas of population-directed preventive measures and restorative oral care. Notwithstanding these positive trends, older adults are faced with increasing difficulties in day-to-day requirements such as oral maintenance care. An interdisciplinary approach is therefore required to plan effectively innovative health care models. It is up to the oral health professionals to find compelling and appropriate roles within the interdisciplinary care management of older persons. This is due to the fact that oral diseases together with tooth loss, have a negative impact on the wellbeing of older people, hindering them from functioning and interacting socially. This chapter explores the oral health in the older Maltese persons, and its implications on general health and challenges faced by older persons and the professional community providing gerontological and geriatric services.