Oral health for an ageing population

The world’s population is ageing, and it is predicted that by 2050, 25% of the world’s population – 2 billion people – will be aged over 60 years. A fifth of these – 400 million – will be aged over 80 years. Epidemiological studies show that older persons are particularly affected by poor oral health, with negative consequences on their general health.

Diseases such as dental cariesperiodontal diseasetooth loss, dry mouth or oral canceraffect their chewing function and nutritional intake, as well as their ability to interact socially, thus leading to a drastic decrease in quality of life or even death.

25%

By 2050, 25% of the world's population will be aged over 60 years
(2 billion people) 

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FDI Frailty Guide

This WebApp is a guide for dentists and other oral health professionals to receive targeted prevention advice for their older patients (over 65) in accordance with OHAP’s dependency-level-based and prevention-based approach. The FDI Frailty Guide can be used during a consultation with the patient and provides advice as per Dependency-Level and Oral Frailty Risk-Level of the patient.

Staying healthy into old age with the support of oral health professionals

The Oral Health for an Ageing Population (OHAP) project was launched in 2015 to strengthen the role of the oral health community in achieving healthy longevity. The project pushes for oral health challenges to be addressed in broader disease policies and health promotion strategies for ageing populations. OHAP aims to ensure that people not only live longer lives but healthier ones too, free of oral diseases, to secure their overall health and well-being. A conference dedicated to the subject is organized every two years.

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Ageing population

Goal 1

Advocate for oral health challenges to be addressed in broader health policies for ageing populations

Goal 2

Promote research on oral health in ageing populations and leverage opportunities for improved oral disease prevention and treatment strategies

Goal 3

Evaluate the state of oral healthcare policies at the national, regional and global levels, and provide practical solutions to the challenges identified for older adults

Resources

FDI OHAP Exercise Brochure
Oral health for an ageing population
FDI OHAP Exercise Brochure
Brochure

This brochure provides oral function exercises to be performed regularly by older adults to help maintain their oral health and prevent signs of oral function decline.

Managing older adults_Chairside guide
Oral health for an ageing population
Managing older adults: Chairside guide
Chairside guide

This chairside guide provides recommendations based on the Lucerne Care Pathway to support targeted service-delivery strategies that avoid under- and over-treatment and foster a life-course approach to oral health.

Oral health: caring for older adults_brochure
Oral health for an ageing population
Oral health: Caring for older adults
Brochure

This brochure provides tailored guidelines to help carers take care of older adults' oral health based on their level of dependency.

Oral health in older adults_brochure
Oral health for an ageing population
Oral health in older adults
Brochure

This brochure provides tailored guidelines to help older patients take care of their oral health based on their own level of dependency.

Oral health for an ageing population_Results of a survey on oral conditions in the elderly_survey
Oral health for an ageing population
Oral health for an ageing population: Results of a survey on oral conditions in the elderly
Survey

FDI conducted a survey among its 140 regular members on oral conditions in the elderly and found that, from the 62 National Dental Associations (NDAs) who took part, only 39% collect data.

Achieving a healthy ageing society_brochure
Oral health for an ageing population
Achieving a healthy ageing society
Brochure

Lifelong oral health aims to maintain good oral health and an optimal quality of life through oral health promotion, risk assessment, disease prevention, early diagnosis, and intervention at all stages of life.

Roadmap for healthy ageing_toolkit
Oral health for an ageing population
Roadmap for healthy ageing
Toolkit

This roadmap provides key information on the phenomenon of global ageing and its implications for oral healthcare services (OHCS).

This project is supported by: