The elderly patient: no reason to worry!?

In December 2013, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has placed Switzerland for the first time at the top of the list of countries’ general population life ex- pectancy. The augmenting life expectancy and demographic changes are leading to an increase in the number of older people who are dependent on care (Höpflinger & Hugentobler 2003, Höpflinger et al. 2011). Multimorbidity and the resulting polypharmacy have inevitable consequences for the oral health and present a challenge for dentists (Fried et al. 2001). As dental treatment for multimorbid and bedridden adults can be quite complex, it seems necessary also from a dental perspective to detect age-related defi- ciencies as early as possible. If depression, dementia or malnutrition is suspected, an immediate referral to a specialist physician is recommended for an in-depth assessment and treatment. For older adults in particular, dental measures alone do not necessarily lead to an improvement in well-being and nutritional state.