The New Elderly Patient: A Necessary Upgrade

Abstract

The elderly individual is becoming the most common patient in clinical practice due to the increasing average life span, especially in developed countries. The current elderly patients are different from those of some decades ago. They usually have an active social life, want to be informed, and are actively involved in the current society with consequent high expectations for medical and dental treatment. However, not all the elderly patients are like this. Some of them show limited financial resources, reduced mental and manual skills, and poor motivation. The purpose of this communication is to make a brief characterization of the new elderly population in view of prosthetic and dental management.

Oral health status among the geriatric population - A cross sectional study

“…It is said that we would see an increase in the prevalence of these two conditions in India due to an increase in aging, improvement in the standard of living due to urbanization, and eating junk food 15 . Periodontitis and dental caries increase as age advances which could eventually lead to partial or complete edentulousness further leading to nutritional deficiency as they will have difficulties in mastication due to which they reduce the intake of hard diet 16 . Edentulous: majority (74.6%) were partially edentulous in the present study which was similar to a study done by Jandial et al 17 .…”

What influences dental students’ attitudes regarding the treatment of older adults? A scoping review

“…In the current dental field, there are elderly patients completely toothed with good oral health, partially edentulous, and fully edentulous with poor oral health. Furthermore, dentists must consider these varieties of dental conditions and the diversity of frailties, medical conditions, nutritional factors, and disabilities to manage adequate treatment 3 . These complex patients’ needs are related to the decision‐making process for oral health treatment 4 .…”

“…Dental students constructing a compassionate image of being older will be better prepared to treat older patients. The treatment of a higher number of older patients will be a reality in the near future 3 . Prepared students will provide age‐appropriate dental care.…”

“…Furthermore, dentists must consider these varieties of dental conditions and the diversity of frailties, medical conditions, nutritional factors, and disabilities to manage adequate treatment. 3 These complex patients' needs are related to the decision-making process for oral health treatment. 4 This must be considered in dental education.…”

“…The treatment of a higher number of older patients will be a reality in the near future. 3 Prepared students will provide age-appropriate dental care. From a compassionate curriculum perspective, students will improve interactions with older patients and the ability to see what the patient was going through.…”