eldercare dentistry


A large part of my practice consists of patients 70 years of age and older. This population is diverse in in it's needs and consideration should be made of and elderly person's general health and finances before establishing a treatment plan. Their concerns are varied. Many are on a fixed income and quite concerned about the cost of treatment, but  some not so much. Some have significant health problems and are not up to extended treatments required by comprehensive treatment plans.

Accordingly I try to get know each of my elderly patients and we discuss  priorities. How important is it for  them is to retain their teeth. Is it a high priority worth expending significant amounts of financial capital or not . Regardless, I usually place them on 3 month recare schedules since most of my elderly patients are more prone to dental problems and prevention and early intervention will tend to provide them with less invasive options and save money (and probably their teeth)

Clearly there are different categories of elderly patients. Some are mentally impaired and come with an aide. Often their families are involved in their care and treatment plans are shared with both my patient and their families. Sometimes saving a tooth with a compromised prognosis is not their best option and they are comfortable not making an expensive replacement tooth. Often instead we opt for an all plastic flipper that is inexpensive and rapidly made. If it is made properly it can serve their purposes and allow them to maintain their appearance without committing to extensive treatment visits and high expenses.

Other seniors are well off, apparently in good health and desire the same standard of care that a younger patient would desire. Interestingly these patients often leave the year of their birth off of my information sheet since they don't want to treated as an elderly person but instead strongly desire to get the "best dental care" possible, regardless of the cost and number of visits involved. They usually ask a lot of questions and carefully evaluate my recommendations.

To sum up, I believe it is important to carefully evaluate the elderly patient and come up with individual types of treatment plans that are appropriate for each one. "Cookie cutter" dentistry really is not the best option for my elderly patients . When a custom patient centric approach is taken, they are very appreciative and treating them can be very rewarding.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2017/10/eldercare-dentistry.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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