Improving Oral Health for the Elderly

Population Health and Well-Being.- The Aging U.S. Population.- The Oral Disease Burden Faced by Older Adults.- Social Disparities in Oral Health and Health Care for Older Adults.- Access, Place of Residence and Interdisciplinary Opportunities.- Health and Medical Considerations.- Movement Disorders in Dental Practice.- Cognitive Impairment.- Musculoskeletal Conditions.- Cardiovascular Cerebrovascular Diseases Diabetes Mellitus: Co-morbidities that Affect Dental Care for the Older Patient.- Geriatric Pharmacology: Principles and Implications for Oral Health.- Management of Alcohol and Tobacco Dependence in Older Adults.- Oral Health and Dental Considerations.- Normal Oral Mucosal, Dental, Periodontal, and Alveolar Bone Changes Associated with Aging.- The Relationship Between Periodontal Disease and Systemic Disease in the Elderly.- Caries, Tooth Loss, and Conventional Tooth Replacement for Older Patients.- Implant Dentistry as an Approach to Tooth Replacement for Older Adults.- Saliva and the Salivary Glands in the Elderly.- Mastication, Nutrition, Oral Health and Health in Older Patients.- Orofacial Pain and Neurological Disorders Affecting the Head and Neck.- Oral Pathology Affecting Older Adults.- Professional Recommendations and Future Needs.- Educating the Dental Profession.- Dental Services Among Elderly Americans:Utilization, Expenditures,and Their Determinants.- Conclusion: Interdisciplinary Planning to Meet the Oral Health Care Needs of Older Adults.

Ira B. Lamster is Dean of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.

Mary E. Northridge is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Public Health and Associate Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She co-edited the forthcoming Springer book on The Health of Sexual Minorities: Public Health Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Populations.

From the reviews:



"Lamster (Columbia U. College of Dental Medicine) and Northridge (Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia U.) take an interdisciplinary stance on the oral health of the elderly by compiling 21 contributions ... who view oral health in the context of physical and mental well-being. ... The book is aimed at those in dentistry, medicine, and aging studies, and in community and public health, health promotion, disease prevention, social work, and health care policy and planning." (SciTech Book News, June, 2008)

"By combining a lifespan approach to health with a biopsychosocial perspective on health disparities, the book places oral health in the larger context of physical and mental well-being ... an invaluable set of recommendations to the clinical, research, and administrative communities that they can use to better  understand and serve this steadily growing population." (Dentistry Today)

"...examines in depth a crucial yet frequently overlooked indicator of seniors' quality of life... places oral health in the larger context of physical and mental well-being....  of immediate interest to readers in dentistry, medicine, and aging studies, it also merits the attention of professionals and researchers involved in community and public health, health promotion, disease prevention, social work, and healthcare policy and planning." (News/Trends)

"...the book is both factual and thought provoking. Some areas challenge our conscience and understanding of the particular dental needs of the older population....  It is an essential read..." (R. J. McGeoch, BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL VOLUME 206 NO. 10 MAY 23 2009)