Oral health promotion for the older adult: implications for dental and dental hygiene practitioners

The role of the dental and dental hygiene practitioner in geriatric oral health promotion can be viewed in terms of three questions. What purposeful or directed steps have been taken to improve oral health promotion? How can health promotion be improved? How can education and research help the practitioner? Professional associations, educators, researchers, school curricula, instructional programs, and dental products companies have tried to improve oral health promotion. At each level, communication of information and effective use of information has been compromised. Geriatric oral health promotion can be improved by increased understanding of: (1) health promotion concepts, (2) cultural and generational issues, (3) chronic oral conditions, (4) patients' perspective, (5) promoting behavior change, (6) listening skills, (7) patients' everyday realities, (8) integrating oral health issues into other health promotion activities, (9) creating easy to understand health education materials, and (10) lobbying for third party reimbursement for oral health promotion.

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				J. A. Fabiano, D. P. Waldrop, T. H. Nochajski, E. L. Davis, and L. J. Goldberg Understanding Dental Students' Knowledge and Perceptions of Older People: Toward a New Model of Geriatric Dental Education J Dent Educ., April 1, 2005; 69(4): 419 - 433. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]