Your Gentle Burlingame Dentist for Seniors
As we age, so do our smiles. For senior patients, proper dental care becomes more critical than ever. At Burlingame Dentist, we're proud to provide excellent dentistry for seniors in Burlingame.
We're dedicated to helping senior patients maintain their oral health and function while protecting their smiles from dental issues associated with aging. By tailoring our extensive dental treatments to meet your unique needs, Dr. Golodriga can help you keep your smile healthy into the future. Schedule your appointment today to get excellent care from our Burlingame dentist for older patients!
CALL US: (650) 697-1711 REQUEST APPOINTMENT
Our Burlingame Dental Care for Seniors
Our mission is to ensure you have access to effective dentistry for seniors that prevents chronic conditions from causing extensive damage to your smile. To ensure lasting oral health, our dentist for seniors recommends that you visit our dental office every 3-4 months for routine cleaning. Our team can monitor your smile, treat dental decay and periodontal disease during these appointments, and provide helpful tips for at-home oral hygiene.
In addition to providing comprehensive preventive care, we also offer several restorative treatments designed to enhance the function of your smile. Our comprehensive restorative options include:
Common Dental Problems for Seniors
Given the changes that occur due to routine wear and tear of your smile, seniors face a unique set of dental issues. Changes such as decreased saliva production, enamel deterioration, and the thickening of your tooth root's surface can cause conditions that encourage bacteria growth, putting you at a higher risk of decay and periodontal disease. These changes can also make detection more challenging, increasing the likelihood that you may not seek treatment before damage is done to your smile.
Seniors are more likely to require restorations to reinforce or replace damaged teeth. However, improper use, failure to keep removable appliances clean, or improper placement can also put you at risk of developing severe oral health issues. These can range from an abscessed tooth caused by failed root canal therapy to developing lesions caused by improperly fitted dentures.
High-Quality Gum Disease Treatment
Our gum disease treatment encompasses cutting-edge procedures and thoughtful education to eliminate and prevent gum disease. When you come in for your initial visit, we'll begin by conducting an extensive oral exam. We'll look at the condition of your gums, teeth, and jawbones. Afterward, we'll determine if you have gum disease and which of our procedures can help treat it, including scaling and root planing.
A crucial component of our gum disease treatment is identifying if medications are causing gum disease. Certain medications can cause gum swelling, accelerating and exacerbating gum disease. Our dental staff will closely coordinate with you to ensure that any medications you take don't inadvertently affect your gums.
Providing Extensive Dental Education
Our Burlingame dentist for seniors is skilled at making dental education accessible and easy to remember. We'll outline some at-home education, including dental care tips, that you can easily incorporate into your day-to-day routine to drastically reduce your chance of developing dental complications. Some at-home care education includes:
- Brushing your teeth twice a day
- Flossing your teeth once daily
- Keeping your dentures clean and bacteria-free
- Scheduling regular dental checkups
- Drinking lots of water daily
- Stopping harmful habits like tobacco use
Combating Dry Mouth
Dry mouth or xerostomia is a condition in which your salivary glands don't produce enough saliva to keep your mouth wet consistently. The natural effects of aging and certain medications can also lead to dry mouth. Saliva neutralizes the acids bacteria produce, which limits bacterial growth and washes away excess food particles. When your mouth no longer has saliva, bacteria can grow at an alarming rate and lead to dental complications like excessive tooth loss.
Some common signs of dry mouth include:
- Feeling dryness or stickiness in your mouth
- Creating saliva that seems thick or stringy
- Increased bad breath
- Experiencing difficulty chewing, speaking, and swallowing
Our team will provide detailed instructions on how to reverse the effects of dry mouth. We use various mouthwashes and gels to help stop tooth decay and help increase your mouth's saliva. Additionally, our dentist may prescribe you medications that help increase your mouth's production of saliva.
Helping You Overcome Oral Cancer
In some instances, more serious oral conditions require more specialized care. Patients undergoing treatment for oral cancer are particularly vulnerable to accelerated decay. We'll consult with your oncologist when you visit our office to ensure consistent treatment and care. Oral cancer patients are often prescribed medication to encourage increased saliva production, preventing accelerated bacteria growth caused by radiation therapy's dry mouth side effect. Following remission and the completion of radiation treatments, Dr. Golodriga works with a local periodontist to help patients regain full oral function.
Senior Dentistry FAQs
Our team is in tune with the needs of our senior patients because we work with older patients daily. We're always here to answer questions and address your concerns. Some of the common questions we receive include:
Seniors should visit the dentist at least twice yearly for routine cleanings and checkups. However, our team often recommends older patients visit every 3-4 months, depending on their oral condition.
Yes. Older patients commonly take certain medications that can cause dry mouth, increasing the risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Our team can provide strategies and recommend products to combat dry mouth and promote optimal oral health.
Our dentist will screen your smile for issues like ill-fitting dentures, compromised crowns and bridges, and more. We're always looking for problems associated with aging restorative dental work and offer innovative solutions for dealing with them.
Your Affordable Burlingame Dentist for Older Patients
If you're looking for a dental practice that values quality dental care for seniors while emphasizing affordability, our Burlingame dentist for older patients is here for you. We take the time to understand what you're dealing with and then craft a personalized treatment plan that improves your smile's health while working with your unique budget. Call us today to schedule your next appointment and take the first step toward getting the affordable dentistry for seniors in Burlingame you deserve!
CALL US: (650) 697-1711 REQUEST APPOINTMENT