title: The elderly patient: no reason to worry!?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Reconstructive Dentistry and Myoarthropathy, University Clinic for Dentistry, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Glenz
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.forename: Christian E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Besimo
authors.forename: Carlo P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Carlo
keywords: Third and fourth stage of life; multidimensional patient screening; depression; dementia; malnutrition