Caring for America’s aging smiles.
11/13/2004 E.J. Mundell USA Today A generation or two ago, dentures were common among the elderly, even the middle-aged. Fortunately, public health initiatives over the past 50 years have changed attitudes and hygiene practices, and a majority of today's Baby Boomers are growing older with the teeth they had as teenagers. But will the nation's dentists be able to care for them as they continue to age? "By about 2030, an enormous amount of people — 20% of the population —will be 65 years of age or older. Those numbers are going to be overwhelming, and I don't think dentists right now are very well-equipped to deal with them," said Dr. Ira Lamster, dean of the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery, in New York City. In an article published earlier this year in the American Journal of Public Health, Lamster warned of a "looming crisis" in geriatric dentistry. "The country's been successful, and rightly so, in convincing people that teeth can last a lifetime," he said. On the other hand, aging teeth and gums have special health-care needs. "What are teeth? They are biomechanical devices for crushing and grinding food," explained dentist and American Dental Association spokesman Dr. Richard Price. "But any machine is going to wear or break. As you get older, gums recede. In some populations, tooth decay among senior citizens is twice that of teenagers." Some of the contributing factors to poor oral health in old age include: A lifetime of tooth repair using [...]