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Updated: May 28, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Prosthodontic care for elderly patients
P Finbarr Allen1, Gerald McKenna, Nico Creugers
1University College Cork, Ireland.
Unlabelled:
For older patients, clinicians should consider maintaining teeth and using functionally-orientated treatment strategies as an alternative to removable prostheses. When the remaining dentition has a poor prognosis, key teeth should be preserved as overdenture abutments and a gradual transition to edentulousness planned. Where complete dentures are provided, these can be retained using dental implants to overcome many of the problems associated with conventional replacement dentures.
Clinical Relevance:
The elderly population of today is better informed and more demanding of oral healthcare providers than previous generations. Clinicians should be aware of all the prosthodontic treatment options available for older patients.
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