How Does Dental Care Change As Your Age?
Your mouth changes as you age. Since they are at the front of the digestive system, they are prone to receive a lot of wear and tear. One common misconception with a majority of people is that losing teeth as one grows old is inevitable. However, this is not true. If you take good care of your teeth, you may end up keeping all of them for a lifetime. Actually, the level of wear and tear that occurs to your teeth as you age depends on the dental care you provide to them. This article takes a look at how dental care changes as you age.
- Dry Mouth
As we get older, we all become more prone to dry mouth. This can occur due to age, medications,or certain health conditions. Dry mouth causes an unpleasant sensation and takes a toll on your overall oral health. Saliva plays a vital role in proper maintenance of oral health. It helps your gums to stay healthy as well as protect your teeth from bacteria. However, when the salivary glands in your mouth fail to produce enough saliva, you may face problems such as gum disease, mouth sores, yeast infections,and chewing problems. Therefore, if you are suffering from dry mouth, visit us at Springvale Dental Clinic and discuss a treatment plan with one of our dentists.
- Gum Disease
Gum disease becomes a huge problem for people as they age. This is regardless of if they have their natural teeth or are using restorative devices such as dentures. Gum disease primarily occurs when your gum pulls away from the tooth, exposing the root and base of the tooth. This condition makes it simple for bacteria to attack the tooth leading to tooth decay and other dental complications.
A lifetime of brushing your teeth too hard can make the gums recede. However, other factors such as smoking, not brushing,and flossing daily, dry mouth, and a weak immune system can cause gum disease. Therefore, older adults need to visit their dentist quite often to prevent the occurrence of gum disease. However, if one has already developed the disease, the dentist can recommend deep cleaning as a remedy.
- Dental Cavities
Dental cavities are caused by the harmful bacteria present in the mouth. These bacteria change the sugars and starches in the mouth to acid that attacks the tooth enamel causing cavities. Cavities are more common in older adults. Factors such as dry mouth cause cavities to be more apparent to them. Daily dental care through brushing twice a day, and flossing can help keep them away. Also, regular dental visits are recommended for older adults so as to detect any early signs of cavities.
Bottom Line
There you have it; these are some of the dental complications in older adults and the changes in dental care. It becomes increasingly important for you to visit the dentist regularly as you age. This is due to the normal wear and tear that can take a toll to your teeth. At Springvale Dental Clinic, we provide quality dental services and accept a wide range of payment plans. Medicare is one of the payment options we accept in our practice. Therefore, feel free to visit us for dental services if Medicare covers you.
Check out our Blog about Different Dental Infographics.
