How Oral Health Changes With Age
Oral care is important as you grow older. Keeping your mouth healthy as you age will enable you to retain your ability to consume various kinds of food, helping you maintain a balanced diet throughout your life while also promoting good health. As a result, it is important to undergo routine dental checkups every six months.
Sharing Information with your Dentist
It is good to make appointments with your dentist as you age, making sure that you share any changes in your oral health. It is also important to let your dentist know about any medications you have been prescribed. Some medications have side effects that may cause oral problems that include discoloration and dry mouth among many others. In addition, your dentist also needs to make sure that any newly prescribed medication does not interfere with any medications that you are currently taking. This will prevent any undesirable side effects that may result from the medications interacting with each other.
Common Oral Problems as you Age
One of the most common oral problems people experience as they age includes dry mouth. A dry mouth is caused by a lack of salivary flow in the mouth. This reduces the cleansing and other protective functions performed by the saliva. According to the ADA (American Dental Association) as many as 25 million residents in the US suffer from dry mouth. Patients suffering from dry mouth generally feel as though they lack moisture inside their mouth and may have trouble chewing, tasting, swallowing, and speaking. It is also accompanied by cracked lips or a burning sensation.
Dry mouth may also lead to several other dental complications because saliva plays an important role in rinsing and neutralizing the bacteria inside your mouth. If you have a dry mouth, your chances of contracting tooth decay and other dental infections increase drastically. As a result, it is important to remain cautious about your dental health as you age.
If you have any questions regarding how your oral health changes with age, don’t hesitate give Hinsdale Dental a call today: 630-323-5200.
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