'Ageism' in dental care delivery.
Older adults will comprise increasingly higher proportions of dentists' practice time in the future, and issues regarding their treatment are more salient now than ever before. Psychosocial issues and attitudes toward treating older patients are among the most important of these. Ageism, defined as negative attitudes or prejudice toward older adults, has implications in dental care delivery. It can be manifested by the attitudes that older people have toward their own aging process, by those who provide their health care, and by society. This article proposes a more appropriate definition of ageism, and discusses the forms ageism can take in the dental care setting.
Gilbert
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Dental Care Administration, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA 02115.
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology; D000375:Aging; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D003729:Dental Care; D003815:Dentists; D006801:Humans