How Ageism Affects Senior Dental Care
Ageism has become a new issue that is affecting seniors in the dental care field. Older adults are facing issues of prejudice in certain dental infrastructures as they are undervalued. With the rising population more seniors continue to reach the age of vulnerability. Some difficult challenges include cognitive abilities which makes it harder to complete tasks, reduce mobility, and individuals finding it challenging to assist the elderly at an old age.
Some dental care workers and healthcare providers have biased thoughts and when asked about dental care many of them preferred to treat younger individuals. Ageism is also seen to be caused by being discriminatory?towards this group, having stereotypes about them, and participating in prejudice actions by not providing them with services.
Maintenance of Good Oral Hygiene?
Due to their fragile health some dentists find it is difficult for seniors to maintain and take care of proper oral health practices. For example due lack of mobility at an older age, it restricts seniors from being able to move around and perform these dental cleaning necessitates. An important part of one's oral health is keeping your teeth clean by brushing daily twice a day for two minutes. Due to mobility issues some seniors with the lack of help tend to struggle to perform such practices. Without the help of a caregiver and guardian they may not be able to clean their teeth at all. This can cause more detrimental issues for example gum disease, decay on the roots, continuous tooth loss and bacteria growth increasing in the mouth.?
At an old age due to teeth loss dentures also become a common tool used by many seniors. If individuals lack the proper care of removing dentures and cleaning them it can lead to denture stomatitis. This is a yeast fungus that can be developed into the mouth. This causes the tissue underneath to swell up and common signs will show colored patches on the seniors lip, tongue and gums.
The lack of care can lead to these arising issues and this makes dentists skeptical and not as welcoming. Their views tend to become biased as they feel senior individuals are not as careful and attentive with their dental care, many feel it is easier to treat younger youth and individuals. Now although this view is existent from some dentists, others feel sympathy for individuals as they fear the pain and discomfort that many older individuals must go through.?
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Pain and Discomfort In Dental Care
For older adults pain and discomfort is a common issue. When going through certain dental operations and visits there is only so much pain that they can withhold. When looking at teeth extraction, the pain is increased in a elderly individual due to the change in their teeth tissue. There is more brittleness that develops in the teeth due to the increased amount of medications an older individual consumes.
This increased brittleness would then cause a fracture in the tooth leading to a heavy tooth pain ache. Dentures, although an effective device to help fill in missing teeth, can also cause pain to one's mouth by intraoral trauma which can damage the tissue. This causes swelling and?scars to form in the mouth.?
Lack of Proper Dental Plans?
With the rising cost and inflation skyrocketing in this day of age, going to the dentist is an additional expense that some older adults are unable to adjust to. Additionally, due to many seniors reaching retirement age they do not have a proper income to afford costly dental payments after regular visits. Part of a good life and healthy lifestyle is access to proper dental care. Canada has been looking to tackle this issue by implementing a new dental plan in 2025. This will allow about 6.5 million individuals which includes the elderly and those with disabilities to have access to proper dental care.?
Conclusion?
Ageism is a continued issue that occurs in the dental community. Unfortunately elderly individuals are sometimes not provided with the proper care and treatment due to certain challenges. However, in long term care homes and certain medical institutions nurses and care workers ensure to provide proper care and attention to the elderly. In this day of age individuals are working harder to provide sufficient and affordable dental care to seniors so they no longer feel undervalued.?
Authored By: Muzna Mian
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