Personal Dental Health >> Dental Care for Seniors

All ages can enjoy good oral health and benefit from regular professional dental care.
As you age, however, you may need to make a few changes in the way you care for your teeth and gums.

• Flossing and Brushing
• Denture Care
• The Check Up
  

Flossing & Brushing

Along with a regular checkup, brushing and flossing are the most important things you can do for your dental health.

Denture Care

If you lose a tooth, you can replace it with a "false" (or artificial) tooth. If you don't replace it, your other teeth may get out of line. You need to care for complete dentures and partial dentures as carefully as you would look after natural teeth.

1. A fixed bridge (or fixed partial denture)
   One or more false teeth are held between healthy teeth on both sides. You cannot take this kind of bridge out by yourself.
2. A partial denture (or removable partial denture).
   One or more false teeth are held in place by clasps that fit onto nearby healthy teeth. You can take the false teeth out yourself, for cleaning and at night.
3. Complete dentures.
   If you lose your teeth, these dentures can replace all your natural teeth.
4. Dental implants.
   Dental implants are used to support false teeth or a fixed bridge. You must have healthy gums and bone (under your teeth) to support the implant. Your dentist (or oral surgeon) will put a small metal post into your jawbone.
   

Over time, the post will bond with the bone around it. The post (or implant) will act like an anchor to hold one or more false teeth in place.

You need to care for complete and partial dentures as carefully as you would look after natural teeth.

• Clean them every day. Plaque and tartar can build up on false teeth, just like they do on natural teeth.
• Take them out every night. Brush your teeth and gums carefully, using a soft toothbrush.
• Soak them overnight. They can be soaked in a special cleaner for false teeth (denture cleanser), in warm water or in a mix of warm water and vinegar (half and half). If your denture has metal clasps, use warm water only for soaking.
  

Because the implant sticks to bone, it can be treated more like a natural tooth. But it is NOT as strong as a natural tooth. You must brush and floss the implant very carefully. Be gentle, but make sure you brush all sides of the implant. At least once a day, floss very carefully. You will need to be gentle with the floss where the implant meets the gum.

If you have false teeth, see your dentist regularly. Your mouth is always changing. This means your false teeth will need to be adjusted from time to time to make sure you have a good fit.

If you have a bridge or implants, check-ups will help you make sure that your natural teeth get good care.

The Check Up

As you get older, you may have dentures or dental implants. These dentures and implants need to be checked by your dentist. If you take medicine that makes your mouth dry, or makes your gums grow, you need to have a dentist take a close look.

A check up can include some or all of these procedures:

• Examination and Treatment
• Cleaning
• Advice
• Maintenance