Aging & Periodontium

Geriatric Dentistry is a branch of dentistry which deals with treating and preventing oral diseases in older patients. Throughout the world, the numbers of older adults are increasing, and these individuals are retaining more teeth. Older people have limited regenerative abilities and are more prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than other adults. This population has unique changes in their physiology as well as immunity that necessitate alterations in their treatment plans. They use more medications, many of which can cause problems such as xerostomia and decreased saliva. Thus, aging can significantly alter the host immune response and inflammatory reaction to bacterial plaque and in different ways than in younger population. In these older adults, education, nutrition, counseling, regular dental care, and compensatory home and professional care technique may be required. This review focuses on the change in the tissue that occurs with age and immunological alterations with age that contribute to the causation and perpetuation of periodontal disease.