As people age and progress into their senior years, not only does their dependence on caregivers change, but their need for medical care increases exponentially. With other major health concerns often taken precedence, dental care for seniors is frequently pushed down on the list of necessities. It‚ is important to not let this happen, as a healthy mouth leads to a healthy body. Interestingly, your mouth is a direct tunnel to your heart and having poor oral health can directly hurt your core organ system. Here are some tips for caregivers and seniors to maintain good dental health.
Visit The Dentist: An easy way to maintain good oral health in seniors is to remember to visit the dentist twice a year. Not only will the senior be able to get a clean bill of health for their mouth and rid themselves of any cavities, but the dentist will be able to help the caretaker with tips to help keep their loved ones teeth healthy year round.
Use Mouthwash: For little ones, it‚ is important to instill a habit of brushing and flossing, but interestingly enough, for seniors it‚ is actually more important to use an antiseptic mouthwash and an easy tool for caregivers. Using a mouthwash will help to remove bacteria, prevent gingivitis, and therefore help to avoid periodontal disease.
Keep Medications In Check: As many seniors are on multiple medications, it‚ is important for caregivers to watch the side effect since many of them can cause minor dental problems. A big side effect of many prescription medications is dry mouth. Dry mouth can lead to cavities and increased plaque and other issues. However, it is very easy to help ease this problem. Using gum, brushing after every meal, or other natural options to increase saliva production will help minimize this problem and keep your loved ones mouth healthy.
Take Care of Dentures: Just because many seniors are using a partial or a full denture, and therefore do not have real teeth, it does not mean that they do not need to take care of their mouths. Visiting the dentist twice a year will allow the dentures to get a thorough cleaning, and the senior patient can have their mouth carefully examined for issues such as oral cancer. The dentist will also be able to check the fit of the dentures to make sure they are snug in your mouth. It‚ is also important to not use real toothpaste on the dentures in day-to day-cleaning because it‚ is too harsh. Taking care of dentures is just as important as brushing permanent teeth in your mouth.
Guest blogger Shoshana Davis is a contributor to www.topdentists.com
health dental resource site. Photo credits: www.freedigitalphotos.net
An easy way to maintain good oral health in seniors is to remember to visit the dentist at least once in 2 months. Using a mouthwash will help to remove bacteria, prevent gingivitis, and therefore help to avoid periodontal disease.