Good Oral Health Pays Off
The Rewards Are Physical, Social & Psychological
Most seniors know that they should take care of their teeth. Good oral health can help them avoid pain and prevent tooth loss, while enhancing their ability to enjoy a scrumptious meal. However, there are other payoffs to practicing good oral hygiene.
Staying healthy is one of them. It’s easier to maintain the proper nutritional intake when it doesn’t hurt to chew. (To avoid the pain of sore teeth and gums, seniors have been known to skip meals.)
Two other rewards for good oral hygiene are the keeping of a social life and the maintaining one’s dignity. Poor oral health may cause chronic bad breath, chasing people away. Physical discomfort and missing teeth can gnaw away a person’s confidence to be in public. The overall result can be personal embarrassment and the loss of one’s dignity. The imposed or self-imposed isolation that follows can lead to depression, alcoholism and other health problems.
Let the dental staff know if you have a hearing or vision loss so they can make the adjustments necessary to improve communications.
The Dental Effects Of Age
Dental Trivia
- The formation of plaque increases. It can also be more difficult to remove tartar.
- The saliva flow may decrease. Called xerostomia, this condition creates the feeling of “dry mouth” and slows down the washing away of acids that are produced by plaque. Plaque then forms more quickly, leading to more cavities.
- Thinning of the enamel (clear, outer coating of teeth) and changes in the bone-like tissue (dentin) that is underneath the enamel can cause teeth to darken in color.
- Gum tissue may recede from the teeth, exposing the roots to plaque and making them susceptible to decay.
- Old fillings may weaken or crack. This permits bacteria to accumulate around their edges, leading to new cavities.
- Humans are the only animals that can survive after losing their teeth. All other animals lose the ability to either catch their dinner, eat their food or defend themselves.
- The teeth are made of a dense, crystalline, bone-like material and are actually the hardest structures in the human body.
- The tongue is the only muscle in the body that is attached at only one end.
- The lower jawbone (the mandible) is the only jawbone that moves when we chew. In addition to up and down movement, it twists and bends. This flexibility improves chewing and cuts down on broken jaws.
- Each healthy jawbone has 14 to 16 teeth.
- In addition to being a silversmith, Paul Revere advertised himself as a dentist, doing teeth cleaning and wiring in false teeth.
(Sources: American Dental Association, Growing Older With Your Teeth)
