At Dr. Eric Meyer’s Fullerton dental office, we provide preventive care to ensure seniors have healthy, comfortable, good-looking teeth. Many people are aware that children are at risk for tooth decay and cavity formation, but they may not be aware that the risk returns late in life. There are a number of reasons for this which seniors and those caring for them need to look out for.
Declining dexterity and motor control can make oral hygiene difficult. Declining vision may also make it more difficult to target problem oral areas, but seniors are also likelier to simply forget to keep up their brushing. They may also have changed their diets to include softer foods with higher sugar contents that are likelier to get stuck between their teeth and feed more bacteria. Seniors also often make fewer trips to the dentist due to loss of employment benefits and are on medications that compromise their oral health, such as those which cause dry mouth.
On top of these complications, most seniors did not have access to fluoridated water growing up, making them more vulnerable to any adverse change in oral health. According to the most recent information from the Centers for Disease Control, one in five had untreated tooth decay. However, with fluoridated toothpaste and other products we can recommend for help with motor control problems and dry mouth, seniors can regain and even improve their oral health.
Eric M. Meyer, DDS, operates at 2720 North Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, California, 92835. To schedule an appointment, call 714-879-7943 or visit FullertonDental.com and fill out a contact sheet.
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