Dental care tips for seniors in Miami-Dade

Posted by Scott Cantin in Senior Care | 0 comments

Taking care of your teeth starts when you’re just 6 months old and becomes critical as you age. During your senior years, you may face various problems with your dental health. Lack of calcium and other minerals can cause teeth deterioration and various dental health concerns. When you lose more teeth, you will experience difficulty chewing and swallowing food.

Regular dental checkups enable dentists to diagnose, treat and prevent problems before they worsen. At Advancare, we recommend making regular visits to your dentist for dental exams and check-ups to keep your teeth healthy. We offer home care services to seniors in Miami-Dade, such as palliative care, meal planning, errand running, and much more. You can reach out to our team for more information.

Common Senior Dental Problems

Older people are more susceptible to oral health issues such as:

• Dry mouth: Old age, long-term use of dentures, and certain medications can cause dry mouth.
• Darkened teeth: Your teeth become dark naturally by consuming plenty of stain-causing foods and beverages such as coffee. Enamel erosion exposes the yellower, darker dentin. If you have darkened teeth, visit your dentist.
• Gum disease: Gum diseases in older adults are common as many things, including long-term use of tobacco, plague, specific medication, unhealthy diet, and certain medical conditions like anemia and cancer cause them.
• Root decay: Dental decay happens when the gum tissue begins to recede, which exposes the tooth root. The root no longer has enamel to protect it from the decay-causing acid. As a result, it becomes prone to decay and bacteria.
• Sensitive teeth: Sensitivity is quite common in seniors and it’s mainly caused by gum recession which exposes the tooth root, causing sensitive teeth. Using an anti-sensitive toothpaste can help improve the symptoms. If the problem doesn’t go away, you could be dealing with a more significant issue.
• Uneven jawbone: When you fail to replace missing teeth, it causes the other teeth to shift into the open spacing, causing uneven jawbone.

Age itself is not a dominant or primary factor in determining oral health. However, health conditions such as arthritis can make flossing and brushing difficult. Drugs also affect the general health of a senior’s teeth.

What Seniors Should Expect During a Dental Exam

Suppose you just booked a dental exam. In that case, you should expect a few questions from the dentists, such as the approximate date of your last dental visit, loss of sensitive teeth, bumps, lumps or swelling in your mouth, difficulty chewing, tasting, and swallowing food, and many others. During your visit, your dentist will also check your face and neck for discoloration. 

You will also be asked to bite to check how your teeth come together when opening and closing. They will also check for swellings around your mouth, signs of infections, and tooth damage. If you wear dentures, the dentist will ask a few questions about when you wear them and when you remove them if they’re removable.

Don’t wait until you’re experiencing pain to visit a dentist. Apart from dental exams, you should always keep your mouth, teeth, and gums clean. Contact our team today if you need any home care services in Miami-Dade.