Shrivastava Saurabh RamBihariLal, Bobhate Prateek Sudhakar, Pratama Bayu Fajar, Mishra Vaishnavi Himanshu
Deputy Director (Research and Development), Off-Campus, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Wanadongri, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.
Department of Education Research, School of Higher Education and Research, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Wanadongri, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.
J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2025 Jun 30;15(3):296-299. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.jispcd_28_25. eCollection 2025 May-Jun.
Oral health is closely linked to overall wellbeing among the elderly as poor oral hygiene can result in conditions like tooth loss, periodontal diseases, and xerostomia. The purpose of the current article is to justify the need for maintaining oral health among the elderly, identify the barriers that can prevent maintenance of oral health, and propose potential interventions to overcome these identified barriers. To ensure that elderly people have an adequate intake of essential nutrients, they must have healthy teeth and gums, which enable them to chew foods efficiently. Elderly people with good oral health tend to have clear speech and effective communication, which improves their self-confidence and eliminates the possibility of being socially isolated. Despite the presence of multiple benefits of good oral health, there are multiple constraints that can limit the maintenance of optimal oral health among the elderly. Acknowledging the significance of maintaining oral health and the presence of different barriers that can interfere with the maintenance of optimal oral health among the elderly, there is an indispensable need to implement specific interventions to improve the existing scenario. In conclusion, oral health is an integral component of the overall health and wellbeing of elderly people. The need of the hour is to implement a comprehensive package of interventions to ensure easy access to quality-assured oral healthcare services for the benefit of the elderly people.
口腔健康与老年人的整体健康密切相关，因为口腔卫生不良会导致牙齿脱落、牙周疾病和口干等情况。本文的目的是论证老年人保持口腔健康的必要性，找出妨碍保持口腔健康的障碍，并提出克服这些已确定障碍的潜在干预措施。为确保老年人摄入足够的必需营养素，他们必须拥有健康的牙齿和牙龈，以便有效地咀嚼食物。口腔健康良好的老年人往往言语清晰、沟通有效，这会增强他们的自信心，并消除社交孤立的可能性。尽管保持良好口腔健康有诸多益处，但仍有多种限制因素会妨碍老年人维持最佳口腔健康。认识到保持口腔健康的重要性以及存在可能干扰老年人维持最佳口腔健康的各种障碍后，实施具体干预措施以改善现有状况就显得不可或缺。总之，口腔健康是老年人整体健康和幸福的一个组成部分。当务之急是实施一套全面的干预措施，以确保老年人能够方便地获得有质量保证的口腔医疗服务。
