Geriatric dentistry or gerodontics is the delivery of dental care to older adults (over the age of 65) involving the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of problems associated with normal aging and age-related diseases. In dealing with older adults, a dentist works as part of an interdisciplinary team with other health care professionals.
The sense of touch also includes awareness of vibrations, pain, and your body position. The skin, muscles, tendons, joints, and internal organs have receptors that detect touch, temperature, or pain.
With aging, there is a decline in the actual form of the intestines and in the membrane composition of the intestine. This causes declines in the absorption of some nutrients, such as fatty acids and cholesterol. The changes common in the GI system during aging include:
As we get older, our skin undergoes a number of changes. How your skin ages will depend on several factors: your lifestyle, diet, heredity, and other personal habits (such as smoking).
ANA Periodicals OJIN Vol 14 – 2009
The prevalence of obesity in the United States is increasing in all age groups. During the past 30 years, the proportion of older adults who are obese has doubled. In this article the author describes the prevalence and causes of obesity among older adults as well as the consequences of obesity in older adults. Recommendations for interventions to address obesity are also provided. Differences between the two groups of older adults, those 50 to 65 years of age, and those over 65 years of age, will be addressed. The goal of the article is to raise nurses’ awareness of the challenges of obesity in older adults.
Changes in the male reproductive system occur slowly over time as a person ages. Unlike women, men do not experience a sudden change in fertility or in the functioning of their sex organs.
The nails change with aging, growing more slowly, and becoming dull and brittle. The color may change from translucent to yellowed and opaque. Nails, especially toenails, may become hard and thick and ingrown toenails may be more common. The tips of the fingernails may fragment. Sometimes, lengthwise (longitudinal) ridges will develop in the fingernails and toenails. This can be a normal aging change. However, some nail changes can be caused by infections, nutritional problems, trauma, and other problems.
The Life span of a living organism may have its own clock, a recent study suggests. Degenerative genetic changes manifest at a certain point in life, that is, at a certain time after birth these changes take place no matter how long the life span is. Therefore, growing older is the greatest risk of accumulating adverse genetic changes that can lead to the development of cancer and many other age-related diseases.
Exp Gerontol. 2002 Apr;37(4):477-89.
Between the ages of 20 and 80, humans lose approximately 20-30% of their skeletal muscle mass. This age-related loss of muscle mass, sometimes described as ‘sarcopenia of old age’, is the consequence of complicated multifactorial processes and is commonly associated with osteopenia or osteoporosis. Consequences of the aging changes in muscle are declining physiological function and loss of muscle strength, typically associated with reduced physical activities. Consequently, falls and subsequent serious injuries are prevalent in the elderly. Thus, it is imperative to try and understand the processes, leading to age-related muscle loss, in order to develop means to retard this phenomenon leading to improved quality of life in the elderly. It is possible to divide the causes of muscle aging to intrinsic factors, involving changes at the molecular and cellular levels, and to extrinsic or environmental factors.
If you’re middle aged, there’s a good reason why you can’t beat your child at games like “Memory” and “Concentration.” Scientists report that after age 40, brain tissue shows genetic changes that may contribute to the aging process, including cognitive decline.