If you are a senior – over 65 years of age, you must know that you will experience dental issues due to advanced age. This is why you must focus on preventative dental care to maintain and improve your general health.
As you age, your teeth get a beating, and you need better attention.
Many older individuals make mistakes that jeopardize their oral health. The good thing is that these mistakes are avoidable. Let us look at these mistakes.
Assuming Teeth Loss is Unavoidable with Advanced Age
Many seniors have this false impression that as they age, they will lose their teeth and will have to rely on dentures. Well, this is just that – a myth. If you believe in this myth, you won’t see any reason as to why you should prevent the loss of teeth as you age.
The best news is that you will come across seniors that still have all their teeth intact. This tells you that if you take care of your teeth right, you won’t have to lose them even when you age. With the advances in dentistry and today’s quality products for dental care, you can retain all your natural teeth.
Many seniors lose their teeth due to poor care or trauma. If you take all the necessary precautions and avoid trauma to your face, you won’t be a candidate for dentures anytime soon.
Ignoring Dry Mouth and its Effects
As you age, you lose the ability to keep your mouth wet as before. Without saliva in your mouth, your gums tongue, teeth, and other soft tissues get sticky.
Dry mouth is a severe condition of seniors because of the side effects of various medications. Remember, the older you get, the more medications you need to treat the different conditions and dry mouth.
At first, you might ignore it because it might not be as serious as it seems. However, with time, the role of saliva in sanitizing your mouth is compromised, and you will become susceptible to several conditions, including gum disease and tooth decay.
While you might opt for medications that can treat the dry mouth, you can effectively control the condition by sipping water regularly. Chewing gum can also stimulate the production of saliva.
Avoiding the Dentist’s Office
A visit to the dentist should be more regular as you age. If you have seen the dentist once every year, this is the time you need to visit twice or more every year. Other seniors cancel the appointments that they feel aren’t vital at all.
When it comes to dental visits, every issue needs to be taken seriously. One of the main aims of seeking for Brooklyn dental services PC is to identify and prevent any future issues from developing. Early symptoms of dental conditions are usually identified, which allows for earlier intervention.
Thinking that Dental Care is Too Expensive for You
Many seniors might be living on a tight budget or a fixed one. In such a situation, you might feel that the amount you spend on a dental appointment can be more meaningful.
Seniors face a myriad of medical expenses. Combined with the fact that insurance companies shy away from offering medical cover, it becomes hard for them to pay out of their pockets for some services.
When the senior looks at the cost of service regarding what they spend on other services, they opt to pass. They feel it isn’t worth the price. They procrastinate so much that they only visit the clinic when the issue is beyond repair.
Changing Dentists all the Time
It might be a good option to change your dentist and get another one, well, maybe if the dentist has moved out of the state or the area. If you have been working with a dentist for a long time and things have been good all along, try and maintain them.
The dentist knows your history – he knows where your dental problem started and what has been done so far. It will be dental suicide to switch to a new dentist that doesn’t know anything about your history.
Conclusion
The elderly need to pay closer attention to their teeth. Failure to do this will lead to issues with their teeth. This is the reason why you need to seek Brooklyn dental services PC early enough.
