Are the elderly receiving proper dental care in their nursing home?  The fact is that older people in both hospital and nursing homes may not be receiving proper oral care and are at risk for dental problems.

You want to make sure that the hospital or a nursing home is responsible of providing oral health care to their patients.   That they have a high level of initial training for nurses and health care professionals regarding oral care for the elderly, otherwise the care of such elderly individuals might be sub-optimal.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, on average, 318 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed and 72 deaths occur each year in Colorado. Which shows just how important it is to have regular dental checkup, dentists can examine oral tissues for cancerous or per-cancerous lesions. As with all cancers, early detection is key to  survival

According to studies it is estimated that one-half to three-quarters of all nursing home residents have their own teeth into old age.  This may be because of greater dental health awareness as well as fluoridated water.  Even though this is good news that seniors today are able to keep their teeth much long, the situation has created a predicament for the residents in nursing homes as caregivers often lack the expertise or time needed to maintain good daily dental care. Poor dental care can lead to stroke, arterial disease, and pneumonia.   Check to make sure that your nursing home provides on-site professional dental care.  Make sure that the administrator believes that good dental care is important to good overall health care.

A study done of 902 people in nursing home, concluded that oral hygiene was poor. The study was on  the oral health care in nursing home residents with different cognitive status.  Forty per cent of participants in the impaired group were edentulous, significantly higher than the edentulism rate in the demented group (29%, p = 0.01). More than 60% of the participants lost 16 or more teeth prior to examination. Depending on their cognitive status, 82–92% of the participants arrived with one or more caries or retained root. Dentate participants in the impaired and demented groups averaged about six caries or retained roots, significantly more than 4.7 caries or retained roots in the non-impaired group (p = 0.01).

Many seniors suffer from dry mouth. Dry mouth is a condition that occurs when the salivary glands do not provide enough saliva to keep the mouth moist. Dry mouth can lead to tooth decay, increased rates of gum disease, burning mouth syndrome, and trouble speaking, swallowing and tasting food.

Often times dry mouth is caused by the prescription drugs seniors are taking. More than 400 drugs, many popular with seniors, can interfere with good dental health. Seniors should let a dental professional know what medications they are taking

Dental crown is very common in dental care services provided by a dentist.  A dental crown is a tooth shaped “cap” (some people refer to crowns as caps) that is placed over a tooth. The dental crown covers the tooth to restore the tooth shape and size, strength, and or to improve it’s appearance.  The crown, when cemented into place, will fully encases the entire visible portion of a tooth that lies at and above the gum line.

Staying healthy and looking good is important to todays’ seniors. Therefore many more seniors are exercising and eating right. Equally important however is having  good oral care of teeth and gums. Simply by brushing twice a day with fluoride, toothpaste and flossing daily seniors can avoid many oral health problems. Regular  dental checkups and having their teeth professionally cleaned are also important.

Dental Veneers or Porcelain Laminates are wafer-thin shells that are custom made to cover the from surface of your teeth. dental veneers or porcelain laminates help to change the color, shape, size or length of your tooth. Dental veneers offer a conservative approach to changing a tooth’s color or shape compared to crowns, but the process is not reversible and can be costly.

Question: Do Seniors need to brush and floss more frequently?

Answer: Although it is important for senior to keep maintaining good oral health habits because they are more susceptible to tooth decay and gum disease. However dental habits do not change just because of your age.  Seniors still need to floss daily and brush their teeth at least twice a day.  If you have arthritis or other condition that limits movement, try an electric toothbrush. Be sure to clean between teeth daily with floss. If floss is too difficult to work with, try a floss pick or tiny brushes made specifically to clean between teeth.

Seeing a dentist regularly is very important to maintain your dental health and catch any minor dental issues before they turn into larger ones.

Dental bonding is a procedure in which a tooth-colored resin is applied and hardened with a special light, the material to the tooth to improve a person’s smile. This is among the easiest and least expensive of cosmetic dental procedures. Dental bonding can repair chipped or cracked teeth, close gaps, change the shape of teeth, or be used as a cosmetic alternative to silver amalgam fillings.

Snacking on sweets too often without brushing increases the acid in your mouth, giving you a higher risk of developing tooth decay. Munch on vegetables fruit and cheese instead.

Know that you are not alone if you have dental anxiety.  Many people worry about going to the dentist. Some people get very nervous and sick to their stomach at the thought of having to go to the dentist.

For people that have dental anxiety this can stop them from going to the dentist. However, this can lead to serious dental issues, including infected gums and teeth, dental decay, difficulty chewing, and lack of self confidence due to bad teeth.     Here are some tips that may help you with your dental anxiety.

Make sure to talk to your dentist about your fears. Try to explain why you are nervous. This way your dentist can do everything possible to put you at ease.  Have your dentist explain what he/she is going to do. If you understand what is going on it may make your feel less nervous about it.

Timing is important: Try to make your dental appointments when you do not feel rushed or under added pressures.  Such as an early morning  or on a weekend. You also want to have them book your appointment when the dental office is not at it’s peek hours.  This way the dentist is able to spend additional time with you when needed.

Sometime the dental anxiety is based from the noise of the drill, if that is part of the factor bring headphones to listen to your favorite tunes.  Work out with the dentist hand signals to communicate pain, discomfort, or that you need a break.

Also if you feel your dentist is not working with you and your dental fears. Then do not be afraid to switch dentists.  A dentist should always listen and make and effort to help you feel at ease.

Think twice before using your teeth as tools. Many people get into a bad habit of opening a stubborn chip bag or holding objects in their mouth however doing so can  cause chipped or cracked teeth.

You do not live in the Stone Age, so there is really no excuse to use your teeth to open a bottle of beer, the bottle opener was made for that. Tools are easier to replace than your teeth, which were really meant to last you a lifetime.

When you have a dental PPO or Free choice of prior plan you normally have a annual dollar maximum benefit per person per year.   You want to try and pick a plan with the maximum dollar benefit that works will for current and future dental needs.

However there are times when you may need to have larger dental care services that exceed  your dollar maximum limitation in a given year.  As part of dental planning, you will want to consult with your dentists and, if possible, delay work that would push costs over what you are covered for by our dental plan.  For an example if your dental insurance works on a calendar year basis (Jan – Jan) You could start dental service towards the end of the year and finish in the being of next in order not to exceed you maximum limitation for your dental care.   The same is done if your plan is subject to other start and end dates you only need to know this time frame.  Call your dental insurance to find our prior to having larger dental issues address.

It is important to have good oral habits, therefore it is important to understand the consequences of having bad oral habits. Having bad oral habits can lead to bad oral hygiene over time, causing bad breath, tooth discoloration, red, swollen gums, cavities, gum disease and ultimately, tooth loss. It can affect not just your oral health, but also the following:

1) Bad oral heal can effect your chewing and speech. Dental decay will start to hurt if left untreated. Imagine grinding your food when your teeth are hurting.  Missing or broken teeth can effect the way you talk. Imagine say F and Th with out healthy front teeth.

2) Self-esteem. Now we can not speak for everyone, but having swollen gums, bad breath and stained teeth or no teeth, can indeed put a damper on ones confidence.

3) Budget/Finances:  Delaying needed dental treatment by not visiting the dentist regularly can cause more harm than good, even to your wallet. When you defer your dental treatments small dental issues that may have been address early on goes untreated and turn into larger more cost dental problems.

4) Overall Health. Many research studies has shown that gum disease is linked with health problems including heart disease, stroke, pneumonia and other systemic diseases. Bad oral health is also shown to increase the risk of pre-term delivery and low-birth-weight infants.

Before buying any dental insurance dental plan for you or your family make sure you know and understand what they plan as to offer you.  Dig into the plans details.   The availability of the plans information should be available to you before buying it on line.    Dental insurance is any investment and it is in your best interest to understand what you are paying for. You should be able to review the plans the coverages, limitations, and exclusions, before buying it to make sure it will work best for you and your family dental needs.