Nearly one in three adults spend at least a portion of their time caring for parents who are aging or who have a disability. The average time adults spend caring for their parents averages around 20 hours per week. One of the tasks many adults face is finding a good dentist for parents who are aging. Here are some tips to look for when trying to find a great dentist for your parents.
Is There Such a Thing as a Geriatric Dentist?
You may already have switched your older family member to a doctor who specializes in geriatric medicine. Geriatric physicians specialize in keeping senior adults as healthy as possible as they age, which means keeping track of chronic diseases and working with them to improve their general health.
Geriatric dentistry is the practice of caring for the oral health of senior adults. Geriatric dentists treat chronic diseases such as gum disease and tooth decay. Like other dental specialties, geriatric dentists take additional years of specialization by studying in the lab and doing clinical rotations.
What if there is not a geriatric dentist close to your family? You can look for someone with a family dentistry practice, which means they can care for your senior family member because they have been trained to care for everyone in your family.
Do I Have to Switch My Aging Parent to a Geriatric Dentist?
If your senior adult is happy with their dentist and you think their dental professional is caring for their teeth well, they can stay with their dentist. It is not unusual for senior adults to remain with their current dentist. Many dentists treat entire families for decades throughout the entire life cycle.
However, if you think your parent is not getting the dental care they need, you may want to look for another dentist for your senior adult. Why not look for a dentist that specializes in caring for the entire family? We can help. Reach out to us today to make an appointment with our dentist for your whole family!
