Gerodontics: A Boon for the Oral Health of Geriatric Patient

ABSTRACT Background: Oral health is an integral part of general health and affects physical and mental well-being and quality of life of elderly persons. Changing demography due to the increasing population of elderly persons the world over has raised new challenges in every sphere of life. There is a growing interest in the oral health status of older persons, 65 + years, as the size of this population increases and the percentage of edentulous person's decreases as a result of the prevention in younger ages. The provision of dental care in the elderly patient is basically the same as the care provided to other segments of the population. Yet there are problems related to their mental and physical health which should be taken into account. Conclusion: In this article emphasis is made about the current issues and topics in geriatric dentistry that reinforce the need for interdisciplinary care/research of the elderly. KEY WORDS gerodontics, geriatric patient, oral health Received on February 28, 2013 and accepted on June 21, 20131) Department of Oral Pathology. Jaipur Dental College India2) Pandey Dental Clinics & implants India3) Yenepoya University, YDC Mangalore, India4) School of Dental Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains MalaysiaCorrespondence to: Shan Nawaz Malik(e-mail: shanawaz_mlk@yahoo.com)