06-19-2024 Primetime - Flipbook - Page 14
14 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, June 19, 2024
DENTAL CARE
Dental care
as we age
A healthy mouth is more
than a pretty smile
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
Kevin
Fielding
D
o we take the health of our mouths, our teeth, for granted? Probably.
Because unless there’s a good reason, say, a family member or friend who
had lots of problems, you may not see your dentist twice a year as recommended.
“The mouth is the entrance to both the
digestive and the respiratory systems. As
such, it’s a very important part of your
health,” explains Janet Yellowitz, D.M.D.,
M.P.H., associate professor and director
of geriatric dentistry at the University of
Maryland, School of Dentistry. “It is something you should take care of throughout
your life. Your jaw, gums, sinus cavities – they
are all connected to every part of your body.
For example, if you get an infection in your
mouth, it’s connected to your blood system,
which, in turn, is connected to your heart.
So, by finding and treating it – and other
dental problems – early, you’ll stay healthy a
lot longer.”
“Geriatric dentistry, also called gerodontics, is the delivery of dental care to older
adults involving the diagnosis, prevention,
and treatment of problems associated with
normal ageing and age-related diseases as
part of an inter-disciplinary team with other
health care professionals,” according to the
National Library of Medicine.
Most of us don’t think about how our
health gets more complex as we age since
it happens gradually. We see more specialists, so our roster of health care professionals and medical appointments expands
exponentially. Where we err is not keeping
our dentist on that list of those we see on a
regular basis. It’s important because it affects
our self-image (our smile), our ability to communicate and socialize (being able to speak
clearly), and to eat a healthy diet (taste and
enjoy foods).
“If you’re in the habit of seeing your
dentist regularly, you should continue,”
says Yellowitz. “Often, the dentist or dental
hygienist will catch something long before
it turns into a major physical ailment or illness. Even if you go only to have your teeth
cleaned, your hygienist, trained to be alert to
potential problems, will notify the dentist if
something is amiss.”
Then there is good news and bad news.
“On the plus side,” Yellowitz explains, “as
you age, your teeth become less sensitive,
so you do not experience as much pain.
The bad news: if it doesn’t hurt, you don’t
have a warning that something needs to be
addressed, so you don’t go to the dentist
when you should.
“In addition to the lack of pain, there
are many reasons people shun visits to the
dentist: fear and prior bad experiences are at
the top of the list. And early dental disease in
older adults is often asymptomatic or they’ll
take an analgesic to alleviate the pain. Thus,
it’s easy to stall. If they don’t deal with the
problem, maybe it will go away. While the
pain may dissipate, the disease only progresses and gets worse. But the damage to
your body has already occurred.”
Dr. Kevin Fielding, D.D.S., Fielding Dental,
(www.fieldingdental.com), talked about treating older adults; they make up around 50%
of his practice. “We can provide a higher
level of service because we’re familiar with
the issues they face, and it’s something they
appreciate. They also tend to follow through
on recommendations we make to improve
their health.
Janet
Yellowitz
“Gerodontics – geriatric dentistry – differs
because it’s only one part of a comprehensive health plan. We see the most problems
among those in nursing homes and those
dependent upon a caregiver. It is easy to
ignore the oral health of their patients, which
leads to other health problems.
“Those who suffer from chronic illnesses
can have problems due to polypharmacy,
defined as taking five or more medications
every day. Taking a lot of different pills with
varying side effects can lead to lower saliva
flow, something that is not a normal part of
aging. That, in turn, can cause cavities and
gum disease. For people who have diabetes,
high blood pressure, anxiety and/or depression, and are taking drugs for them, we can
work with their doctor or primary care physician to modify what they are taking to alleviate the issue. In any case, it’s good to keep
a bottle of water handy and sip it throughout
the day.
“Saliva production is one problem, but if
what the mouth produces is too acidic, we
need to buffer the pH to closer to 7 or neutral
on the scale that determines base versus
Dental care, continued
on page 20
