While taking care of your teeth is essential for ensuring good levels of health at any age, it is particularly important in older age.

As we get older, it may become increasingly difficult to stay on top of our teeth. Older adults with cognitive impairments such as dementia may require support from a caregiver to manage their oral health, and even those who experience no cognitive issues may experience a deterioration in their oral health due to side effects of medications, poor mobility, and high levels of fatigue.

Many older adults also experience problems with dry mouth, which increases vulnerability to tooth decay due to acids, food, and plaque staying on the teeth for long periods of time.

Here are four of our top reasons why good dental care is especially important in older age.

1. Have A Better Quality Of Life

Perhaps the most important reason to take care of your teeth as you get older is to ensure an adequate quality of life. Most people would like to live well into old age, but if teeth are not properly cared for, it could result in difficulty eating and high levels of oral pain - which may make it challenging to enjoy your later years to their full extent.

Finding it difficult to eat not only takes away the joy of consuming enjoyable foods, but may also severely affect your social life. Most, if not all, of our traditions as human beings revolve around food as a ritual, which may cause older people with eating difficulties to feel isolated around other people.

By ensuring that we take good care of our teeth as we get older, we can help to preserve the things that make our lives worth living. Social interaction, participation in activities, freedom from pain, and the ability to enjoy life’s simple pleasures all depend on keeping fit and well, and this also applies to oral health.

2. Prevent Potentially Deadly Infections

As we age, our bodies become more susceptible to many health conditions, including infections, cancers, and chronic health issues such as diabetes.

Our mouths can play host to a wide range of bacteria and viruses, and when not kept clean and properly cared for, these infections can travel to other areas of the body, which may cause many different types of health complications. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that our immune systems decline as we age, making us more vulnerable to the effects of disease.

Potentially deadly infections such as pneumonia and endocarditis or heart disease may be caused by bacteria travelling from the mouth to the lungs and heart.

Oral infections can also result in high sugar levels in the body, which may result in the development of diabetes, and adults with a pre-existing diabetic condition may be more prone to developing oral infections such as periodontitis, more commonly known as gum disease. Adults that do not take adequate care of their oral health may even face a higher risk of developing oral cancer, which can often be fatal in older individuals.

As such, taking care of your teeth in older age may well be the key to living a longer and healthier life, and should be considered a preventative measure against potentially deadly infections.

3. Guard Against Dementia

A highly debilitating disease which can cause high levels of stress for the individual and their loved ones, dementia can seriously affect quality of life and the ability to live independently.

Research has shown that tooth loss can place older people at higher risk of developing dementia, due to bacteria and gum diseases which may cause inflammation and build-ups of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.

Dementia also causes many cognitive and functional issues which may make it more difficult to comply with an oral hygiene routine. Older adults with dementia should be supported by caregivers to maintain their oral hygiene, which may involve prompting or help to brush, rinse, and floss their teeth, or to put in dentures which may help to protect the gums from infection.

Where it doesn’t affect an individual’s overall quality of life, older adults should be encouraged to reduce their sugar intake. This may include recommending healthier alternatives such as fruits and vegetables, plain yoghurts, and savoury snacks.

4. Protect Yourself From Gum Disease (Periodontitis) And Tooth Loss

Periodontitis, also known as gum disease, is a risk factor for tooth loss and a wide range of other infections and health conditions. Two in three adults aged over 65 have gum disease, according to the CDC, but many are unaware of its effects until the disease begins to progress.

Gum disease can cause high levels of oral pain which can reduce quality of life and make it difficult to participate in activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating and drinking.

And when gum disease progresses to periodontitis – its more serious form – it often causes tooth loss. Losing your teeth in older age can be a painful and debilitating experience which severely affects your self-confidence and mental health.

Nearly one in five adults over 65 years of age have lost all their teeth, causing many difficulties in later life, such as problems eating, talking, participating in social activities, and higher levels of depression and anxiety.

Thankfully, taking good care of your teeth in your younger years and beyond will help to prevent the causes of gum disease and stop it progressing into periodontitis – thereby helping to ensure that you keep all your teeth intact and in place in your old age.

So then, for all these reasons and more, it’s important to properly protect and care for your teeth throughout the whole course of your life!