A Lifetime of Healthy Smiles? By Michelle Vacha RDH, BS Hu-Friedy Master Clinician 2010

In a recent article titled "Creating Healthy Smiles for a Lifetime" from one of our Dental Hygiene publications, author Beverly Litchfield wrote very eloquently about the importance of children's oral health and the promotion of February's National Children's Dental Health Month.  Believe me, I love children - I have 2 young ones of my own.  And although children's oral health is very important, I'm frustrated with the relatively limited focus given to another population who is in just as much (maybe even more) of a state of dental neglect: the vulnerable elderly.

The Surgeon General reported back in 2000, "Those who suffer the worst oral health are found among the poor of all ages, with poor children and poor older Americans particularly vulnerable." (Surgeon General, 2000). This report makes it abundantly clear that there are profound and consequential disparities in the oral health of our citizens.  These findings were reported back in 2000, and many children programs have been developed and funded.  Yet, from what I have seen, very little has changed or improved for the poor older Americans, especially the vulnerable elderly in skilled nursing homes. Maybe it has even worsened with the fast track of this population growth and increased tooth retention. This year marks the first year of "Baby Boomers" hitting the "senior citizen" ranking.  From what I am experiencing, most decay is so uncontrolled it is overwhelming. Many families of nursing home residents opt for palliative care - watching for pain or abscesses. Luckily, by their age, we have found most nerve canals are so calcified that pain and abscesses are not as prevalent.

So much research and product development throughout the years have improved, maintained and preserved the oral health of our nation; and the current senior population benefits significantly from the advances of the oral armamentarium that has been successfully developed and utilized throughout their years. The elderly are statistically retaining their teeth longer than any previous elderly generation.  Healthy Smiles are created for a Lifetime. Or are they? 

We have succeeded in important areas, but now are failing the people who have done so much for us and our country. They and their oral health are forgotten. I challenge you: go into one skilled nursing home, and look at 10 residents' mouths, and see how thick plaque can actually build up. Out of those 10, count how many have rampant decay and teeth broken off at the gumline.  Then let's re-evaluate about how we've kept them healthy for a "lifetime."

Given the data and my personal experiences providing clinical care to the vulnerable elderly while establishing Senior Mobile Dental's nonprofit program, there is a mismatch between this population's needs and the funding directed toward them. I would like to pose this question: would having a "National Elderly Oral Health Month"  help shift awareness of the current state of this population's oral health,  and potentially lead to more funding of projects targeting this population? I wonder and welcome what other Friends of Hu-Friedy members think?

Join the conversation at Friends of Hu-Friedy's Facebook Page!

About the Author

Michelle Vacha is a practicing dental hygienist and an active member of the American Dental Hygiene Association and Colorado Dental Hygiene Association. She is the founder and Executive Director of Senior Mobile Dental, a non-profit charity organization addressing access to care and providing mobile dental hygiene services to the older adult population in Colorado Springs, CO. She has received many awards and recognitions, including the
Hu-Friedy/ADHA Master Clinician Award.

References

US Department of Health and Human Services. Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 2000.