Alterações bucais do envelhecimento e implicações para a atenção odontológica

Abstract

Brazil is going through a process of rapid population aging and facing intense concern with the need to better structure services and health programs that would meet the emerging demands of the new epidemiological profile of the country. Many elderly patients present alterations in the oral cavity as a result of the manifestations of systemic diseases, nutritional deficiencies or side effects by the use of drugs, among other reasons. This study aimed to formulate proposals, from the literature review, aimed at contributing to the professional training of dentists in primary care, aimed at improving oral health and quality of life of these patients. Narrative review was made, having been consulted on-line publishing of works published in Portuguese and English in the form of articles through BIREME from data bases BBO, BDENF, MEDLINE and LILACS, from 1985 to 2011. We selected 64scientific productions, allowing goals to be answered through the development of proposals aimed specifically at this audience.