The Golden Years and Beyond – Maintaining Your Smile
At Fox Family Dental we encourage prevention. People are living longer and teeth and gums need special attention to make it through the Golden Years. The routine 6 month cleaning and checkup may not be enough to prevent problems from arising in our teeth.
Several factors can contribute to cavities beginning in our late-middle ages continuing into our elderly years. Medications dry our mouths and multiple medications can compound this problem. Retirement can change our eating and cleaning routines. Soft diets fuel the cavity making process. Furthermore, lack of dexterity can make tooth brushing difficult and make problems worse.
Dry mouth can wreck the health of a perfect mouth. When the saliva is lost, the minerals that typically bathe our teeth and them strong are missing. With time, teeth can become brittle and very susceptible to cavities. Mouths that have perfect restorations and beautiful teeth can quickly become undermined by the disease process.
In order to eliminate the problems caused by dry mouth, we can supplement the lost minerals back into teeth. The damage can be prevented and even reversed in its early stages. In some cases, prescription toothpaste will prevent and reverse the problems associated with minor loss of saliva. In more severe cases, we take molds of your teeth and make very thin comfortable trays that fit over your teeth. Inside these trays we supply a gel that will bathe your teeth with the mineral content needed to prevent cavities, reverse the damage of de-mineralization and protect the health of your teeth.
Elderly patients can have additional situations that make dry mouth even worse. The loss of dexterity in our hands makes it difficult to clean our teeth like we once could. Many people rely on a soft diet that is easier to chew and digest. These carbohydrate rich foods can fuel the bacteria responsible for decay. Electric tooth brushes become a necessity to cleanse the keep teeth healthy. The battery powered toothbrushes do the work and keep teeth clean of disease causing bacteria.
When our loved ones are admitted to nursing homes and assisted living situations it is paramount that they receive the help they need to keep their mouth healthy. Many homes provide onsite medical providers but very few offer any dental assistance. It is important that routine visits to the dentist and hygienist are maintained. Keeping up with routine cleanings and supplementing hygiene aids when necessary can maintain healthy teeth resulting in a better diet and overall health.