At Dentistry by Design, Dr. Ionescu and our team believe that older adults need extra care, patience, gentleness, and a thorough understanding of their overall health conditions to enjoy their golden years with a smile. We are well-known in Elk Grove for providing gentle dental care and for catering to aging adults’ needs.
Geriatric dentistry is about helping the current generation of people over 65 years old be healthier, keep more natural teeth than previous generations, preserve their teeth for their lifetime, and do what it takes to maintain their oral health. We find that our older patients are very thankful to keep their teeth as long as possible, seem to value their teeth more as they age, have more patience in the chair, more time to dedicate to their oral health, and pay more attention to the dental education we provide.
Common Issues as We Age
- Changes in Oral Health: People experience different oral health issues as they age. What we watch for in a teenager is not the same as what we monitor in aging adults. Dry mouth, swelling of the gums, and root caries, for example, are more frequent in seniors than in younger adults.
- Medications: In many cases, older patients take multiple medications for a various range of age-related conditions. Dr. Ionescu is aware of the impact of medications on dental conditions and designs dental treatments accordingly.
- Pre-Existing Conditions: Seniors who have compromised immune systems require special care, and we approach promptly all sources of infection in the maxillofacial area. For example, it is known that diabetes is related to compromised gum health; therefore, diabetic patients need extra procedures to keep their gingival health under control.
Prevention—Important at Any Age
Prevention is a fundamental part of our philosophy of practice here at Dentistry by Design. We always explain the benefit of keeping twice a year routine dental visits at our Elk Grove dental office. Skipping just one routine visit may lead to a cavity not being identified in a timely manner, growing in size and depth, and increasing the risk of nerve involvement and pain. That’s valid for all patients of any age, but especially so for older adults. Routine visits save patients money, time, and discomfort.
Specialty Care
While we can take care of almost all dental procedures in house, there are times when a specialist’s care is the best course of action—most often for root canal treatments, dental implants, and some challenging tooth extractions. It is our belief that a specialist can perform these procedures faster, with greater accuracy, and less discomfort for the patient than a general dentist can. We work with the best specialists in the area, most of whom are located in the same building or a nearby building. We arrange for our patients’ appointment with the specialist to be scheduled in a timely manner. After the specialist has completed the procedure, we provide follow-up care for the restauration that might be a crown or bridge, an implant restauration, or dentures. Choosing Dentistry by Design for Your Care
At Dentistry by Design, Dr. Ionescu and every member of our staff have the highest qualifications one can achieve in their position. They are not only experienced, accomplished dental professionals, they are also caring, attentive, and they have great empathy and communication skills. While we have all the modern technology required in a dental office like digital X-rays, intraoral cameras, educational videos, soft tissue lasers, computerized delivery of anesthetic, and so on, we believe that nothing can replace the human skills like kindness, a positive attitude, teamwork, patience, and understanding that we offer.
