A lot of changes in your body happen when you begin to age, including in the mouth. Medical professionals, including dentists, encourage you to be cautious of your general health. The greatest misconception about getting old is that your teeth become wobbly and start falling out. The truth is that your teeth can remain healthy and sturdy for life if you take proper care of them.
It is important to understand the connection between aging and dental care from a competent dentist. This will help you understand changes in your mouth and how to take better care of your teeth, gums, and jawbone for excellent oral and general health, even in old age.
Reasons Why Senior Dental Care is Important
As you age, your body undergoes a progressive decline, a natural process in which tissues, cells, and organs lose efficiency. This reduces your strength, slows down repair processes, and increases your risk of chronic diseases. Your bone density and muscle mass decrease significantly, as your blood vessels become stiffer. Your immune function and sensory perception also decrease. This affects all aspects of your health, including your oral health.
This explains why your risk of dental problems increases as you age. Common issues you experience include dry mouth and more serious problems like cavities and gum disease. Since your oral health is also connected to your overall well-being, it is advisable to address these issues before they affect your general health. Thus, taking better care of your teeth, gums, and jawbone is as important as caring for your heart and digestive health.
Here are some of the reasons why this is important:
It Reduces Your Risk of Heart Disease
As other changes happen in your body, the pulp, which contains blood vessels that supply blood to your teeth and the underlying structures, shrinks. This reduces your sensitivity to pain and discomfort, which is needed as an alarm when something is happening to your teeth and gums. This means that it is possible to live with an undetected cavity or gum disease until it gets to its advanced stage. Seniors are encouraged to visit their dentist regularly for routine checkups and examinations. This ensures that some of these issues are detected and treated on time.
Generally, your risk of gum disease as you age is higher, and this puts you at risk of chronic illnesses like heart disease. Practicing good oral hygiene habits every day, including brushing twice and flossing, can help fight heart disease, stroke, and other heart-related conditions. Combining this with regular visits to your dentist’s office significantly reduces this risk. During your regular visits to the dentist’s office, they can professionally clean your teeth and gums to remove any buildup that could cause gingivitis and gum disease.
It Reduces Your Risk of Pneumonia
Poor oral hygiene habits are also linked to pneumonia, especially in older adults. When you fail to brush and floss as required, dangerous oral bacteria thrive in your mouth. It combines with the food remaining in the mouth and produces a strong acid that weakens your teeth and builds up on your gums and teeth. Bacterial droplets, especially when harmful bacteria linger in your mouth for a long time, are very harmful. When inhaled into the lungs, they can cause pneumonia.
Improved oral hygiene is the surest way to reduce your risk of pneumonia as you age. In addition to brushing and flossing daily, dentists recommend reducing your intake of sugary and starchy foods. These make the mouth environment more conducive to the dangerous bacteria. If your hands are not strong enough to brush yourself effectively, you can ask your caregiver for help.
To Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes
Gum disease also increases your risk of diabetes, especially in older adults. Periodontitis contributes to systemic inflammation and can impair metabolic regulation and the ability to utilize insulin. Systemic inflammation from periodontitis increases insulin resistance by triggering a sustained immune response. It leads to the release of cytokines, which reduce your insulin sensitivity and disrupt your metabolism.
Additionally, harmful bacteria that cause gum disease can enter other parts of your body through the bloodstream. This can cause widespread inflammation throughout the body, complicating blood sugar regulation and making it impossible to regulate.
If you face difficulties maintaining good oral hygiene habits in old age, you should speak to a skilled dentist. They will provide tips to help you better care for your teeth and gums and reduce this risk.
It Prevents Darkened Teeth
Taking care of your teeth and gums keeps them healthy and your smile sparkling. Even in aging, your smile and confidence still matter. Maintaining good oral hygiene habits will ensure that you smile confidently, even in old age.
Additionally, your teeth’s enamel does not remain sturdy as you age. Just like other parts of your body, its strength declines gradually, and this could expose more of your teeth’s dentin. Dentin is the calcified tissue below the enamel. Sadly, it is highly staining, especially if you enjoy staining foods and beverages, like coffee, tea, wine, and berries. You may notice significant changes in your tooth color as you age.
Dentists recommend maintaining continuous oral care to help protect thinning enamel and reduce the risk of stained or discolored teeth.
It Reduces Your Risk of Gum Disease
Taking care of your teeth and gums reduces your risk of gum disease, especially in old age. Gum disease happens when an acid produced by harmful bacteria in the mouth creates a buildup that forms on your gumline, causing inflammation of your gums. It causes gum recession as the harmful bacteria penetrate your gum pockets, exposing your teeth’s roots. The inflammation can also cause a serious oral infection that can spread to the entire body through the bloodstream.
A balanced oral microbiome helps maintain oral health without causing any harm to your teeth and gums. Failure to maintain good oral hygiene allows bacteria to multiply and spread throughout the mouth, increasing your risk of gum disease. Brushing and flossing daily can help keep oral bacteria at low, harmless levels.
Oral Hygiene Prevents Dry Mouth
Your saliva plays a critical role in the mouth. It helps digest food, flushes out food particles from your mouth, and provides a protective coating for your teeth against harmful bacteria and strong acids. Saliva also remineralizes your teeth, keeping your enamel strong. However, saliva production also decreases with age. This is partly due to the medications you may be taking. The result could be a dry mouth.
Maintaining oral hygiene habits can boost saliva production, keeping your mouth moist and healthy, even as you age. Increased saliva production can help protect your teeth from cavities and keep your mouth clean.
It Reduces Root Decay
Taking good care of your teeth and gums can also reduce root decay. Root decay happens when your teeth’s roots are exposed to strong acids or harmful bacteria. It is a very common problem with older adults. Remember that good oral hygiene prevents gum disease, which is the leading cause of gum recession. When your gums recede, and more of your teeth are exposed, you become more susceptible to root decay.
Also, good oral hygiene protects you from cavities. If you have an advanced cavity that spreads to the underlying structures of your tooth, you are at a higher risk of root decay.
It Helps Prevent Jawbone Deterioration
Practicing good oral hygiene helps you keep your natural teeth even in old age. The risk of losing your teeth to gum disease or cavities is significantly reduced. Then, you will not have to worry about an uneven jawbone.
An uneven jawbone happens due to bone density loss. This is common when you lose your teeth and do not replace them immediately. The gap left by the missing tooth shrinks and affects the general structure of your jawbone. This can eventually affect your bite and your facial appearance.
How To Improve Your Dental Care as a Senior
How you care for your oral and general health changes as you age. This is in response to the progressive decline experienced in all parts of the body, including the mouth. A skilled dentist can guide you on how to approach dental care as you age, to ensure that you enjoy strong and healthy teeth and gums in your old age.
Here are some helpful tips your dentist can share with you:
Brush and Floss Daily
These are habits that should not stop as you age. Remember that your risk of gum disease and cavities is higher as you age. This means you should pay even more attention to brushing and flossing your teeth to reduce this risk.
Use a soft bristle and a fluoride-based toothpaste to brush twice daily. An electric toothbrush could help if your hands are no longer strong enough to brush evenly.
Use a recommended flosser or interdental cleaner to remove stuck food between your teeth. Rinsing your mouth daily with a fluoride-based or antiseptic mouthwash is recommended.
Take Care of Your Dentures
If you wear dentures, whether partial or full, you must take good care of them. Dentists recommend cleaning them daily to remove stuck foods and debris that could encourage the growth of dangerous bacteria. Remove your dentures and soak them overnight in a denture-cleaning solution to help prevent warping. If your dentures break or are damaged, have them replaced immediately. This will keep your teeth functional and protect the gap left by the missing teeth.
Take Good Care of Your Nutrition
What you eat and drink largely determines your oral and general health. Dentists recommend drinking fluoridated water to remineralize your teeth’s enamel and keep them strong. Fluoride also protects your teeth from cavity-causing bacteria.
Maintain a balanced diet at all times. This provides critical nutrients for excellent oral and general health. Avoid foods that damage your teeth and gums, including sugary, starchy, and acidic foods. Also, avoid hard foods that can weaken your enamel and cause erosion. This exposes your teeth to dangerous bacteria.
Stop Harmful Habits that Damage Your Teeth and Gums
If you habitually smoke, your dentist will recommend quitting to protect your oral and general health. Smoking increases your risk of gum disease and oral cancer. It lowers your immune system and stains your teeth. Smoking also affects saliva production, leading to dry mouth.
Other habits you should quit include grinding or clenching your teeth. This causes wear and tear on your teeth, weakens the enamel, and exposes your teeth to cavity-causing bacteria. If you struggle with it, you can wear a mouthguard at night, when you are likely to clench or grind your teeth subconsciously.
Maintain Regular Visits to the Dentist’s Office
Remember that your sensitivity to pain or discomfort, especially in the mouth, decreases with age. It becomes increasingly difficult to notice a cavity or gum disease at an early stage. Regular visits to the dentist’s office ensure that you understand what is happening to your teeth and gums at all times. Your dentist can diagnose and treat a cavity even before it severely affects your tooth. They can also recommend ways to maintain good oral hygiene habits, especially if you are struggling to brush and floss daily. If you have dental restorations, your dentist will ensure that they are functioning as they should.
Find a Competent Dentist Near Me
Taking care of your oral health is very important as you age. This reduces your risk of serious dental conditions like cavities and gum disease, which can eventually affect your overall health. Working closely with a skilled dentist ensures that you understand what is at stake and tips that can help you enjoy good oral health even in old age.
Our services at Valencia Advanced Dentistry at Copperhill Smiles are designed for everyone, from children and teens to young adults and older adults. Thus, we can help you enjoy strong and healthy teeth in your old age in Santa Clarita. Our experienced dentist can regularly examine your teeth and gums and recommend dental care tips according to your needs. Call us at 661-775-7717 to discuss this in more detail.
