GOOD DENTAL CARE TIPS OFFERED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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        (Casper, WY) -- Senior dental care isn't that different from dental care for everyone else, according to Dr. Mike Keim (above), Casper dentist in practice locally for nearly 40 years. "There are some differences that show up as individuals begin to age that contribute to some of the problems that are unique to seniors," he said. For instance, seniors can have fairly involved medical histories and those can complicate treatment and can dictate ways the dentist will treat -- such as the anesthetic used or length of appointment time.

           Dr. Keim made these comments to a group of seniors recently during the Senior-Wise program at the Casper Senior Center. He said dry mouth is one of the biggest problems he sees in his older patients. "Dry mouth can be caused by several factors," he said. "It can be due to certain medications they're on, blood pressure medications in particular." He added that saliva is important in protecting teeth because it helps wash bacteria away from the teeth and it also contains calcium. "Calcium helps to remineralize the teeth," he added, "and when your saliva flow rate drops then quite often you'll have more cavities." 

         He said if you have trouble with dry mouth one of the best ways to deal with it is to chew sugarless gum because sugarless gum stimulates saliva flow and cleans your teeth. When asked about the old camper's trick of putting a rock in your mouth he chuckled, "That will help saliva flow but it can also lead to broken teeth."

           He also said another cause of cavities for seniors is the loss of gum tissue height. He cautioned that if you don't take adequate care of your teeth you tend to lose a little of the bone that supports the teeth and as you lose the bone height then the gum tissue height will recede. He says that can cause root surfaces to become exposed instead of the enamel on the crown of the tooth, and he noted that root surfaces are much more susceptible to decay than the enamel.  

         He did have some good news, however. 'If you brush your teeth and do an adequate job of removing the bacteria and food particles and plaque around the teeth you can pretty well prevent periodontal problems from setting in," he said. "If you do these things you can keep your teeth to a much older age."

          Senior-Wise is held Tuesdays at 12:30pm at the Casper Senior Center, 1831 East 4th Street, Casper.