| Printer version
ADA Community Brief This Issue: Education and the Dental Professional
Baby Boomers – Maintaining Their Oral Health for a Lifetime Not only are people living longer, there is a larger number of older adults in this country than ever before, and many of them are in your practice. Are you prepared? In 2000, 35 million people 65 years of age and older were in the United States, representing a 12% increase since 1990 when there were 31.2 million. And the number of older adults will continue to increase for the next 25 years, so that in 2030 one in five people will be 65 years or older. Today’s baby boomers are not like their parents and grandparents. They tend to be healthier in some ways—they are less likely to smoke, but they tend to describe themselves as less hale and hearty than their forebears did at the same age. They are more likely to report difficulty climbing stairs, getting up from a chair and doing other routine activities, and note more chronic problems such as high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes. More than two out of three boomers (67%) suffer from muscle or joint pain, most of which (63%) occurs at least once a week. However, even with often debilitating arthritis pain, this on-the-go generation shows no signs of slowing down. It is unclear whether boomers are really sicker, are more health-conscious or have better access to information. They also may have higher expectations, and are more likely to complain about aches and pains that earlier generations simply might have accepted as part of aging. With a growing population of older adults in your practice— it is important that the office is designed to address their needs. Due to chronic conditions and age-related declines that impair daily activity, many older adults may be impaired by arthritis, have decreased vision (glaucoma and other eye diseases), decreased hearing (age-related hearing loss) and/or decreased sensation of extremities (diabetes, etc). To address these concerns in your practice make sure to have large print on your questionnaires to improve ease of reading, remove scatter rugs to reduce the risk of falls, have a brightly lit area to assist reading or completion of tasks, and have chairs with arms in the reception room to make it easier to move to a standing position. Some patients may not return to a dental practice if it is uncomfortable—too cold, too dark, difficult to navigate or inattentive to their needs. To learn more about how systemic and oral diseases interact in older adults and how the oral health of older adults is changing and much more, take time to carefully read the JADA Special Supplement, September 2007. This special edition is part of OralLongevityTM, an initiative of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Health Care, the American Dental Association and the ADA Foundation. Included in this special edition is “A Healthy Mouth for Life” DVD and brochure program designed to help older adults learn about their oral health. The DVD is provided to you with the hope that you will copy it and distribute it to your patients. You can make as many copies of the DVD as needed. And, you are invited to copy the OralLongevityTM brochure, to stand alone or to accompany the DVD. All copies of the DVD and brochure should be for noncommercial use andnot be sold. Find Out More New Position at ADA To Address Geriatrics and Special Needs Population The ADA is committed to serving as a leading advocate for the oral health of older Americans by making a long term commitment as outlined in Resolution 5H adopted by the 2006 ADA House of Delegates. The resolution outlined strategies to address oral health issues of vulnerable elders. In order to oversee these programs and tasks, a new ADA position to address geriatrics and special needs populations has been created and recently filled. Barbara J. Smith, Ph.D., R.D.H., M.P.H., has accepted the position of Manager, Geriatrics and Special Needs Population for the ADA. Previously, she held the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Periodontics & Oral Medicine, Division of Prevention and Geriatrics at the University of Michigan, School of Dentistry. In addition, Dr. Smith served as a Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Member for the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Healthcare System and as the Primary Investigator for a National Institutes of Health grant examining oral health needs and dental utilization by nursing home residents. Dr. Smith received a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan, an M.P.H. in Dental Public Health from the University of Minnesota, and a B.S. in Public Health from Indiana University. She has been involved in geriatric dental education and clinical administration for over 25 years. ADA Resources for Your Older Adult Patients Two significant topics that have arisen this year that have had an impact on older adults and dentistry are osteoporosis medications and their link to osteonecrosis of the jaw, and the new changes to the American Heart Association’s (AHA) pre-medication guidelines. In order to assist ADA members and to educate the public, the ADA has created brochures that are available through the ADA Catalog on both topics. The brochure, Antibiotics, Dental Treatment and Your Heart – New Recommendations (W296), explains the AHA’s guidelines, lists heart conditions that no longer require pre-medication and also lists conditions that are of greatest danger and continue to require antibiotics. Osteoporosis Medication and your Dental Health (W418) will help patients understand that if their physician has prescribed an oral bisphosphonate, the patient also should inform their dentist. ● Are Medications Affecting your Oral Health? (W250) You may view these brochures online, and purchase all patient education materials and practice management products through the online ADA Catalog or by calling the ADA. Find Out More/Purchase Tips for Dealing with Older Adults in Your Dental Practice With the graying of America, older adults are a growing part of today’s dental practice. Today’s population of older adults varies greatly in health status, dental needs, income level and self-image. Here are some helpful tips for dealing with older adults:
This information is an excerpt from the publication Fast-Track Training: The Basics for Dental Staff, available through the ADA Catalog, item number P550. Find Out More/Order Hot Button Treating Patients with Coronary Artery Stents In February 2007, the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Dental Association published their consensus opinion about drug-eluting stents and anti-platelet therapy. The advisory document states that healthcare providers who perform invasive or surgical procedures (i.e. dentists) and are concerned about periprocedural and postprocedural bleeding should contact the patient’s cardiologist regarding the patient’s antiplatelet regimen and discuss optimal patient management, before discontinuing the antiplatelet medications. Find Out More Check This Out: Ideas from the ADA Library Staff MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine’s consumer health site, has a dental section (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dentalhealth.html#cat23) with information relevant to older adults. The ADA Library can put together a reference package of 5-8 articles on a geriatric topic like dry mouth, diabetes, nursing homes, geriatric dentistry, burning mouth syndrome or osteoporosis. Call one of our reference librarians to order a reference package specific to your needs—the member fee for this customized service is $25. Find Out More: Question: What steps have you and your dental team taken in your practice to serve an older population? Responses to Last Issue's Question: How is the ADA relevant to you in your professional life?
|
