Understanding Root Canal Procedures

2 Strategies For Increasing Your Clinic's Geriatric Accessibility

29 September 2016

Diane Mason

In the next twenty-five years, the number of Americans over 65 years of age is expected to almost double. It is a good idea for dental practitioners to begin readying themselves for this major demographic shift. If you are interested in learning about how to make your dental practice more accessible to older adults, read on. This article will introduce two effective strategies for increasing your clinic's geriatric accessibility.

Make sure your office is appropriately furnished.

Ensuring that a geriatric patient has a pleasant and comfortable visit is one of the most important things you can do to retain their patronage in coming years. Uncomfortable and/or inaccessible furniture can easily alienate older clients, making them less willing to come back in the future. Begin by evaluating the furnishings in your waiting room, paying especial attention to the seating options.

In order to support elderly patients, waiting room chairs should meet two basic criteria. First, they should be of a tall enough height that patients do not have trouble getting in and out of them. Second, they should not be excessively deep, as this can also make getting up more difficult.

Also be aware that a certain proportion of your geriatric patients may be wheelchair bound. Ensure that there is adequate space for the easy mobility of these wheelchairs. It is also important to consider the challenge of transferring such patients into your examination chairs. By investing in exam chairs that can be lowered to approximately the height of a wheelchair's seat, you will make it much easier for such patients to move comfortably from one to the other.

Drive home the continued importance of receiving regular dental care.

In general, elderly patients are not as proactive as younger ones when it comes to seeking out dental care. In many cases, this tendency has a physiological basis. In other words, because geriatric patients experience a natural decline in their perception of pain, they often fail to recognize dental problems when they arise.

Likewise, there is a certain psychological disinclination to attending to things like basic checkups. That's because many elderly patients view dental issues--whether decay, discomfort, or even tooth loss--as an inescapable aspect of aging. Alternately, patients with dentures often mistakenly believe that their dentures represent a permanent dental cure, one that frees them from the responsibility of continued care. For all of these reasons, it is vital that you emphasize how important it is to continue receiving preventative care. 

For more information about continued dental care and comfort, talk to a dentist like Marc E. Segal, D.D.S.

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