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Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Population ageing and dental care
1Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. jane.harford@adelaide.edu.au
Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology
|September 11, 2008
Summary
Population ageing increases demand for healthcare and pensions, straining economies. Understanding oral health trends alongside ageing is crucial for future planning and affordability discussions.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Health Economics
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- Global population ageing presents fiscal challenges due to increased demand for healthcare and pensions.
- Oral health is a critical component of overall health, with an ageing population increasingly utilizing dental services.
- Existing economic analyses of ageing primarily focus on fiscal implications, often overlooking other significant drivers of healthcare spending.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the economic implications of population ageing on healthcare and pension systems.
- To investigate the interplay between demographic shifts, oral health epidemiological transitions, and future healthcare expenditure.
- To explore the political and societal dimensions of healthcare affordability for an ageing population.
Main Methods:
- Review of traditional economic models projecting healthcare and welfare service burdens.
- Analysis of oral health epidemiological transitions and their impact on dental service utilization.
- Examination of policy proposals for managing the fiscal consequences of ageing populations.
Main Results:
- Population ageing is projected to increase the burden on health and welfare services, raising concerns about affordability.
- Oral health is undergoing a transition, with decreasing edentulism, necessitating a re-evaluation of dental service expenditure patterns.
- Current policy recommendations focus on increasing workforce participation and productivity, and reducing entitlements, but lack public discourse on willingness to pay.
Conclusions:
- The affordability of supporting an ageing population is a complex political and numerical issue, requiring public discourse on taxation and entitlements.
- Future oral health needs require specific consideration, as they differ from general health trends and are influenced by epidemiological changes.
- Further research is needed to understand and shape future healthcare scenarios, particularly concerning the intersection of ageing and oral health.
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