Geriatric dentistry: community aspects
Public Health Dentistry · Dental (BDS)
Study notes
An 80-year-old in a care home develops rampant root caries. Why is the community approach needed? Polypharmacy causes xerostomia, manual dexterity limits brushing, and the patient can't reach clinics - so care goes to them: caregiver training, fluoride varnish visits, simplified treatment. Students learn geriatric's outreach ethic: the clinic waits for patients; geriatric dentistry goes to patients - because the frailest mouths need care most and access it least.
Related topics
- Dental public health: concepts, history, levels of prevention
- Epidemiology of oral diseases: caries, periodontal disease, oral cancer
- Indices: DMFT/dmft, CPI, Dean's fluorosis index
- National oral health programs and policies
- School dental health programs, pit-and-fissure programs
- Water fluoridation and defluoridation