Forming a Modern Therapeutic Resource for Geriatric Dentistry

Abstract

Background. The special status and position of older and oldest old in the therapeutic, diagnostic, and preventive activities of a dentist lead to a firm conviction of an urgent necessity and expediency of creating a new medical specialization — geriatric dentistry.Aim. Based on many years of clinical experience and scientific research, including extensive use of high-tech oral prosthetics for older adults, to make the first attempt at creating an optimal therapeutic resource for a new medical specialization — geriatric dentistry.Materials and methods. Examination and prosthetics were performed on 645 patients aged 60 to 85 years old, with various types of implantable prostheses in the period o 3 to 7 years after their implantation. In addition, 903 implantable prostheses and 3287 of their artificial supports (implants) were also examined.Results. The mean age of patients who visited the orthopedic dentistry department for dental prosthetics was 64.72 ± 6.8 years old. As the main method of rehabilitation of older patients’ masticatory and speech apparatus, we have used implant-supported prosthesis with its digital transformation. Most of the patients underwent reasonably radical oral cavity preparation for prosthetics. The original state retention of the tissues of the implant bed ranged from 78.04 to 100%. At the same time, fixed structures of implantable prostheses were characterized by higher indicators. The preservation of the implants was from 96.8 to 100%, depending on the observation period.Conclusion. The high values of implant and prosthesis retention rates, good condition of the peri-implant mucous membrane and bone in remote periods after prosthetics, as well as a high level of patient satisfaction and significantly higher achieved level of their quality of life, along with high medical and economic efficiency of the method, allow us to consider it a promising standard of geriatric dentistry. Thus, a modern therapeutic, or rather, rehabilitation, resource for effective pre-prosthetic preparation and implant prosthesis has been developed and justified, which is the optimal approach in geriatric dentistry.