Oral healthcare is an integral part of overall health and well-being, and it is a significant and increasing challenge as people grow frail. Incidence of caries and gingivitis among residents of long-term care facilities are on the rise, and daily oral hygiene is often difficult for patients who are frail or in need of assistance. Oral Healthcare and the Frail Elder: A Clinical Perspective provides dentists, dental hygienists, and other healthcare professionals with comprehensive, practical instruction on managing the multifaceted oral healthcare needs of frail elders. By discussing background information and relevant literature, the book provides a holistic approach to clinical issues such as oral pain, dry mouth, and periodontal disease. Edited by experts in the field, Oral Healthcare and the Frail Elder enhances clinical application with thorough reviews of pertinent social and ethical issues, access to care issues, and the practicalities for overcoming these in order to provide high-quality oral healthcare to an aging population.

This book provides a comprehensive review of the assessment and management of older people’s oral health care needs. Discussing recent initiatives to emphasize oral health promotion and prevention, the book describes improvements in pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches for special populations in geriatrics and illuminates the role of barriers to oral health care for older people. Divided into three sections, the book first explores aging and oral health, including age-related changes, epidemiology, nutrition, dysphagia, aspiration pneumonia, xerostomia and hyposalivation, management of periodontal disease and caries, systemic diseases that influence oral health, and considerations for chronic orofacial pain. The second section illuminates the ways in which frailty and other geriatric syndromes influence oral health care in older adults with a special focus on frailty, dementia, delirium and depression, and the delivery of oral health care to vulnerable geriatric populations in long-term care, home care, palliative care, and hospice. Lastly, the book addresses inequalities in the oral health of older minority populations, the disproportionate burden of oral disease and tooth loss, the contribution of these issues to further complications in comorbidities, the association of extended health literacy and periodontal disease, and the social and cultural conditions that might be altered or improved by healthcare programs and health policies. Oral Health and Aging is a useful book written by an international group of experts and designed to educate geriatricians, primary care physicians, nurses, dentists, dental hygienists, speech and language pathologists, dietitians, and health policy advocates.

Oral healthcare is an integral part of overall health and well-being, and it is a significant and increasing challenge as people grow frail. Incidence of caries and gingivitis among residents of long-term care facilities are on the rise, and daily oral hygiene is often difficult for patients who are frail or in need of assistance. Oral Healthcare and the Frail Elder: A Clinical Perspective provides dentists, dental hygienists, and other healthcare professionals with comprehensive, practical instruction on managing the multifaceted oral healthcare needs of frail elders. By discussing background information and relevant literature, the book provides a holistic approach to clinical issues such as oral pain, dry mouth, and periodontal disease. Edited by experts in the field, Oral Healthcare and the Frail Elder enhances clinical application with thorough reviews of pertinent social and ethical issues, access to care issues, and the practicalities for overcoming these in order to provide high-quality oral healthcare to an aging population.

This contributed volume is based on the "European Core Competences Framework for health and social care professionals working with older people" (ECCF), developed and verified in a unique international cooperation between 26 universities and universities of applied sciences in 25 European countries, part of the European Later Life Active Network (ELLAN). In addition to the framework, the book outlines the necessary qualifications and describes the roles of professionals working with older people in health and social services. It explores healthy ageing for older people from different perspectives and describes the seven roles of health and social care professionals (Expert, Communicator, Collaborator, Organizer, Health and Welfare Advocate, Scholar, and Professional), before going on to define 18 related competences and elaborating them in performance indicators. Beyond the ECCF, the book explains the widely used CanMED role model and puts forward theories to support a client centered and integrated approach on health and social care in order to change attitudes toward older clients and offer better care and support. It also provides health and social care professionals, for example nurses, allied health professionals and social workers with new contextual information and cultural awareness. It gives a voice to students by addressing selected perspectives for professional development. The book includes questions for reflective learning helping to make the book a vital practical instrument for use in the educational context throughout Europe. Europe’s ageing populations represent a major challenge for both public health and social care systems. 18% of the population is 65 years old and over, and this proportion will increase in the coming years. As a result, more and more health and social care professionals will work with older people in different settings – at home, in the community, in hospitals or in long-term care settings. Older people, and especially the frail, face a host of interrelated issues, e.g. cognitive restrictions, functional restrictions, psychosocial problems, multimorbidity, polypharmacy and social isolation. These problems call for an integrated approach to health and social care, which this book supplies. It is intended for health and social care professionals, students and educators, for a better understanding of Europe’s ageing society and of the impact on care and services. Furthermore, the ECCF offers educational institutes a unique resource for curriculum development, education, training and assessment.

Geriatric Dentistry: Caring for Our Aging Population provides general practitioners, dental students, and auxiliary members of the dental team with a comprehensive, practical guide to oral healthcare for the aging population. Beginning with fundamental chapters on the psychological, environmental, and social aspects of aging, the book approaches patient care from a holistic point of view. Subsequent chapters show the importance of this information in a practical context by discussing how it affects office environment, decision?-making and treatment planning, and the management and treatment of common geriatric oral conditions. Case studies and study questions are used to illustrate application of educational presentations to practice settings. Contributed by leaders in the field, Geriatric Dentistry will strengthen readers’ understanding and clinical acumen in addressing this special population.

Access to oral health care is essential to promoting and maintaining overall health and well-being, yet only half of the population visits a dentist each year. Poor and minority children are less likely to have access to oral health care than are their nonpoor and nonminority peers. Older adults, people who live in rural areas, and disabled individuals, uniformly confront access barriers, regardless of their financial resources. The consequences of these disparities in access to oral health care can lead to a number of conditions including malnutrition, childhood speech problems, infections, diabetes, heart disease, and premature births. Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations examines the scope and consequences of inadequate access to oral health services in the United States and recommends ways to combat the economic, structural, geographic, and cultural factors that prevent access to regular, quality care. The report suggests changing funding and reimbursement for dental care; expanding the oral health work force by training doctors, nurses, and other nondental professionals to recognize risk for oral diseases; and revamping regulatory, educational, and administrative practices. It also recommends changes to incorporate oral health care into overall health care. These recommendations support the creation of a diverse workforce that is competent, compensated, and authorized to serve vulnerable and underserved populations across the life cycle. The recommendations provided in Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations will help direct the efforts of federal, state, and local government agencies; policy makers; health professionals in all fields; private and public health organizations; licensing and accreditation bodies; educational institutions; health care researchers; and philanthropic and advocacy organizations.

Textbook of Geriatric Dentistry, Third Edition provides a comprehensive review of the aging process and its relevance to oral health and dentistry. Now in full colour, this third edition has been fully revised and updated with new material encompassing recent research and clinical developments within geriatric dentistry. Written in a clear and accessible style, this is an essential guide to geriatric dental practice for undergraduate and postgraduate dentistry students and practicing clinicians alike. Key features include: Contributions from an international group of expert authors Comprehensive coverage of oral healthcare issues in the older adult, from demographics and physiology through to nutrition and pharmacology Provides both foundational knowledge and a guide to clinical management New chapters including material on orofacial pain, quality of life and treatment planning