Our Current Geriatric Population : Demographic and Oral Health Care Utilization - 07/09/14

Doi : 10.1016/j.cden.2014.06.001

Chester W. Douglass, DMD, PhD ^a,^b,^⁎ , Monik C. Jiménez, SM, ScD ^c
^a Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
^b Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
^c Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 900 Commonwealth Avenue, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA

^∗Corresponding author. Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.

Résumé

This article describes the rapidly growing geriatric population in the United States. Current and emerging living arrangements include the subgroups of older adults who live at home, retirement villages, assisted living facilities, various levels of nursing homes, and hospice care. The degree of isolation and social connection is discussed and the need for dental care has been summarized from the literature. Demographic trends imply a substantial increase in both the need and demand for dental care by the senior age groups. A proposal to integrate oral health and dental care with primary care is provided.

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Keywords : Old age, Geriatric, Living arrangement, Population trends, Dental care and demand, Primary care