Tips To Help Senior Adults Keep Their Oral Health

As people age, they may have challenges like cognitive and physical impairment. These issues can affect their ability to keep up with oral hygiene or even fail to remember when their next scheduled dental appointment will be. And because oral health plays a role in overall health, it is paramount that we assist seniors to maintain their oral hygiene. Here we offer you tips on how to help your senior parent, grandpa, or grandma maintain good oral health. 

Offer Support To Their Daily Hygiene

The mental and physical impairments associated with old age can make simple tasks such as brushing and flossing to be difficult. Provide your older family members with things that make their at-home oral care fun and easy to accomplish. You can offer them larger handled toothbrushes and water flossers. If the seniors cannot perform oral hygiene on their own, you can help with the tasks just as you do with the young kids.  

Look Out For Dry Mouth

When an older person says that their mouth is becoming constantly dry, don’t ignore it. Chronic dry mouth may indicate that there is insufficient saliva in their mouth, which can make them more susceptible to dental disease. Encourage these older adults to drink more water and use saliva boosters. If they are using prescription medications, they likely could cause dry mouth, so talk to their doctor about it. 

Get Their Dental Restorations Checked

If your older parent or family member has been living with dental works like implants, bridges, or removable dentures, make sure that they routinely visit a dentist for checkups. Also ensure that during their dental visits, you ask for oral cancer screening as older people are at a higher risk of developing oral cancer. Bring your aged family member to our dental office for checkups and screening. Schedule an appointment today.