Access, Place of Residence and Interdisciplinary Opportunities

Abstract

Healthy People (2000) stated, ‘Having adequate access to medical and dental care can reduce morbidity and mortality, preserve function and enhance overall quality of life’.) This statement is particularly relevant to older adults as their oral health has improved over the past 50 years, and their utilization of dental services has increased (Vargas, Kamarow, & Yellowitz, 2001). )Older adults have an increasing need for care; however, barriers to care increase with age, and many elders do not receive care on a routine basis (Stanton and Rutherford 2003). The Surgeon General’s report on oral health identified the elderly among the populations most vulnerable to poor dental care (U.S. DHHS, 2000).) Ensuring that older adults receive routine oral health care is critical, as basic oral health services are essential components of primary health care (Dolan & Atchison, 1993) and having routine preventive care is associated with good oral health. Although there are no studies to support it, the U.S. Public Health Service recommends annual oral examinations for all adults (United States Public Health Service, 1994). Yet many older adults only seek care when they are in pain or discomfort, which predisposes them to poor oral health. More of the today’s elderly are retaining their natural teeth, with fewer adults experiencing total tooth loss (edentulism). In 2003–2004, one-quarter of noninstitutionalized adults 65 years of age and older were edentulous compared to 33 percent in 1993 (Lethbridge-Cejku, Rose, & Vickerie, 2004). Although there was no gender difference in the rate of edentulism, there were large differences in the prevalence of edentulism by socioeconomic status. Persons with family incomes below the poverty line were almost twice as likely to be edentulous as those with incomes at or above the poverty level. In addition, edentulism was higher among Black persons than among White persons (Kramarow, Lentzner, Rooks, Weeks, & Saydah, 1999).