Oral implications of polypharmacy in the elderly

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Oral Health
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Medications commonly prescribed to elderly patients can lead to salivary hypofunction, affecting saliva's quantity and quality.
• Saliva is crucial for maintaining oral homeostasis, offering protective functions like speech facilitation, swallowing, taste enhancement, acid buffering, and remineralization.
• Salivary hypofunction contributes to xerostomia and a range of oral health complications, diminishing patients' quality of life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the significant impact of medication-induced salivary hypofunction in the elderly.
• To emphasize the critical role of saliva in maintaining oral health and preventing complications.
• To suggest that the negative effects of anticholinergic medications on salivary function can be managed.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on medication side effects in the elderly.
• Analysis of the physiological roles of saliva in oral health.
• Discussion of potential interventions for managing salivary hypofunction.

Main Results:

• Salivary hypofunction is a major side effect of medications in the elderly.
• Reduced saliva impacts speech, swallowing, taste, oral pH, tooth remineralization, and mucosal health.
• Complications arising from salivary hypofunction significantly decrease the quality of life for elderly patients.

Conclusions:

• Salivary hypofunction in the elderly, often medication-induced, necessitates attention due to its wide-ranging negative impacts.
• The protective functions of saliva are essential for oral health, and its absence leads to xerostomia and other issues.
• Interventions targeting the anticholinergic effects of medications offer a pathway to restore salivary function and improve oral health in elderly patients.