How can the elderly maintain oral health problems?

Oral health directly affects the overall health status and quality of life of the elderly. The incidence of oral diseases in the elderly is higher than that in the young, so why is the incidence of oral diseases in the elderly high? How can the elderly maintain oral health?

With the change of physiological aging, the elderly are prone to various oral diseases. In particular, teeth, due to decades of chewing wear, enamel (commonly known as enamel) a large number of wear, physiological tooth tip wear, gingival atrophy, more likely to cause a variety of dental diseases.

Dental caries: Because the elderly oral hygiene is not easy to maintain, easy to retain food in the mouth, coupled with tooth wear and root exposure, the elderly have a higher rate of caries, sometimes in the neck of the teeth and exposed roots are more common.

Periodontal disease: The elderly periodontal disease is more and more serious. This is because the teeth themselves, periodontal tissue and alveolar bone change after long-term use and aging of the body, which is easy to cause food impaction and occlusal trauma, and local hygiene is not easy to maintain. In addition, systemic changes with age, such as diabetes and vascular sclerosis, can lead to periodontal pyorrhea, acute and chronic inflammation, resulting in tooth loosening and loss.

Teeth sensitivity (dentin allergy) : mainly to hot and cold food, sweet and sour food, drink and other stimulation allergy, pain uncomfortable.

Tooth defect and loss: The number of missing teeth increases with age. After missing teeth, it directly leads to decreased mastication function, articulation dysfunction, facial features and oral tissue function, and temporomandibular joint function. After wearing denture for a long time, if you do not pay attention to oral hygiene, there is the possibility of denture stomatitis.

"These diseases can be one or many at the same time. Symptoms can be mild or severe. Either way, it's not just the local symptoms that cause pain, but the whole body. Therefore, we should take early measures to prevent and treat the disease. Correct brushing, timely repair of lost teeth, avoid "plug"......

Brush your teeth properly: Choose a healthy toothbrush and appropriate toothpaste. Brush your teeth every morning and evening, and after every meal if you can. Choose the right brushing method, that is, the Pap method, that is, the horizontal flutter method.

When cleaning the lip and tongue of the teeth, the bristles should be at a 45 degree Angle to the tooth surface, and the bristles should point to the root of the teeth, so that the bristles enter the groove and adjacent area. Part of the bristles vibrate in place against the edge. This brushing method can not only clean the soft dirt between the teeth and the adjacent area, but also play a role in massaging the gums.

Meanwhile, it is suggested that the elderly should use fluoride toothpaste for a long time, and those with sensitive teeth should choose desensitization toothpaste.

Regular examination, regular oral cleaning: regular oral health examination, at least once a year. Regular dental cleaning is the most basic, effective and important step to prevent and treat periodontal diseases.

Special reminder: people suffering from hemorrhagic diseases, patients in the acute stage of oral soft tissue and hard tissue inflammation, and patients equipped with electronic devices such as cardiac pacemakers should not clean teeth.

Avoid "tooth plugs" : try to avoid picking teeth with rough toothpicks, brush teeth immediately after every meal, use dental floss or interdental brush to remove, go to the hospital to repair the missing teeth in time, and remove loose affected teeth with no retention value.

Repair lost teeth promptly: Missing teeth should be repaired promptly. Teeth are used to chew food, aid pronunciation and maintain facial shape.

After the loss of teeth, the balance of the whole mouth will be disrupted. If not repaired in time, it often leads to the inclination and displacement of the teeth on both sides of the missing teeth, the gradual reduction of the gap between the missing teeth, the elongation of the jaw teeth, the disorder of the local occlusal relationship, the decline of chewing function, food impaction, caries, periodontal damage and other problems.

Tooth loss also affects the face, especially the whole mouth toothless, so tooth loss will seriously affect the social activities of patients, easy to produce corresponding psychological disorders. Missing teeth can also lead to slurred speech.

In order to restore the face, improve pronunciation and appearance, improve chewing function, and maintain the integrity of the oral and maxillofacial system, timely restoration of lost teeth with dentures (dentures) is required.

Maintenance of dentures: Wear dentures in time and modify and adjust them regularly. The dentures should be cleaned in time after each meal, and the dentures should be removed before going to bed at night and soaked in clear water. Do not use hot water and chemical agents (such as 84, alcohol, etc.) to prevent denture deformation.