Tips For Elderly To Maintain A Healthy Mouth

The older adults need to be particularly careful about their oral health in order to ensure that there are no oral issues disturbing the normal course of their lives. With age, the calcium content in our body naturally reduces, and the teeth tend to become weaker. Hence, taking the right oral care is even more important at the older age. Here are some vital tips that can help the elderly to ensure a healthy mouth,

• Brushing your teeth twice a day at least for 2 minutes with a soft bristle brush is the most important thing to maintain a perfect oral hygiene in elderly. Using a soft bristle brush in the right way is a must, in order to ensure that there is no damage inside the mouth or on the gums due to over or inappropriate brushing. Consult your dentist if needed to pick the right brush.
• Flossing your teeth at least once a day after brushing is important for the seniors. Usually, with age the gaps in the teeth are increased, which adds to the chance of food particles getting stuck within the gaps. Using a tooth pick for cleaning the gaps is not a safe way for elderly, rather flossing can be most effective and safe. Ask your dentist in case you have any confusion about flossing.
• Many of the toothpastes commonly available in the market contain fluoride in different percentages. For maintaining the right oral hygiene, fluoride in certain percentage might be helpful, but the right percentage of it and if it is appropriate for a particular person that should be determined by his/her dental specialist only and none else.
• Regular visit to the oral health specialist is a must for elderly, even if there are no particular oral complications at the moment. Regular visit to the specialist can be helpful to prevent an oral disease before it occurs.
• As already mentioned, with age the calcium level in the body reduces which can take a negative toll on the dental health of the elderly. Hence take a diet that is rich in calcium and Vitamin D3.
• Staying away from tobacco is a must for the elderly in order to ensure a better oral health. Tobacco in any form can directly affect the oral health and can not only cause yellowing of the teeth but also other major oral complications, including oral cancer.
• For elderly it is also important to check the amount of daily sugar and starch intake. It is important to wash off the mouth with water properly every time after having a soda, a chocolate or starch filled snacks.