FDI Interviewed;
Dr. Sophie Dartevelle
Oral Health for an Ageing Population Task Team Member
Prof. Kakuhiro Fukai
Oral Health for an Ageing Population Task Team Chair
What do you consider to be the most important area of research concerning oral health in ageing populations?
The unavoidable reality of population ageing is affecting our society on a global scale. Dental and oral health are essential to sustain lifelong quality of life, and research has established that dental and oral health contribute to the maintenance and improvement of general health.
Based on these considerations, these are the most pressing areas of research regarding elderly oral health:
- Investigating effective measures of prevention and control of oral diseases, tooth loss and declining oral health function in elderly people.
- Further investigation of the linkage between oral health and general health is required. The economic effect of oral healthcare on medical care expenditure needs to be studied as well.
- To close the health gap and reduce barriers in access to oral healthcare, we need to study and identify the most effective ways to target the social determinants of oral health.
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