Aging and Dental Health

When a person grows older, they tend to require extra care for their body than younger people. Aging is a life process that we all will go through, and like the rest of our bodies, our teeth will also age. 

When we grow older, our gums start to wear away, a process commonly known as receding gums. Receding gums causes infections faster when we age, resulting in complications to bite and chew food. 

Causes of Dental Health Problems During Aging

There are several dental health problems associated with aging listed below:

• Slower Growth Rate Production for Cells

When a person gets older, the body automatically reduces the rate of new cell production, which causes dental health problems. For example, if gums are wounded, or infection has transmitted into gums and teeth, it takes a longer time to heal, which causes pain in jaws and teeth during chewing food.

• The Immune System Gets Weaker

One of the biggest problems of dental health for aged people is the weak immune system. As a person ages-old, their immune system becomes more vulnerable, which causes an inability to fight against the bacteria, damaging dental health. 

• Loss of Taste and Loss of Sensation to Bite 

Another issue for aging people is loss of taste and sensation, which causes rough lip bites and chewing lips due to loss of sensation in the mouth.

Tips for Maintaining Good Dental Health During Aging

Here are a few ways listed to keep teeth healthy during aging:

• Brush and Floss Every Day

One of the best ways to keep your teeth healthy is with the help of flossing teeth before going to sleep. Flossing helps to extract the food particles that are stuck and not easily reachable from brushing teeth. It helps to prevent infections and tooth decay.

• Reduce Sweet and Sugar-added Food

Sugar is bad for your health and harmful to your teeth as sugar is made from carbohydrates starches that build up plaque, acid, damaging the teeth and causing tooth decay. Older people should avoid sugar in food as much as possible as it causes diabetes and high blood pressure and damages the teeth. 

• Regularly Visit the Dentist for a Checkup

One of the best ways to keep teeth healthy for aged people is by visiting the dentist regularly to keep your dental health records updated. Do not avoid visiting the dental checkups. 

• Increase the Vitamin and Calcium Intake 

Vitamin and calcium is the best treatment to make teeth and bones healthy. The best solution for keeping teeth healthy during aging is to take multivitamin supplements recommended by a doctor daily to support the immune system. 

Final Thoughts

Aging is a common factor that causes weakness in teeth resulting in dental health problems. The best recommendation from WHO (World Health Organization) is to brush and floss your teeth regularly, avoid sugar-added foods and visit dental checkups, which will help keep your teeth healthy as you age.

To learn more about aging and dental health, contact your Pinole dentists, Azadeh Hosseini, DDS, and Ghazal Hosseini, DDS at Top Pinole Dental today.

Resource:

Diet Effects On Oral Health

*Neither this nor any other content in this media is meant to prescribe, recommend, or prevent any treatment or procedure. We highly recommend that you get the advice of a qualified dentist or other medical practitioners regarding your specific dental condition.