Oral and Perioral Physiological Changes with Ageing

Ageing is the accumulation of changes over time. Ageing in humans is a multidimensional process including physical and psychosocial changes. Therefore, the management of the oral problems in elderly patients does not depend on the development of new technical skills, but rather on the overall knowledge of age-related and disease-related changes. Moreover, the dentist should be aware of the different modification necessary in the practice to prevent, diagnose and manage different oral conditions in the geriatric patient. Thus, the aim of this article is to gather the oral changes including salivary gland and saliva, tongue and oral sensation, lips, perioral tissues with ageing to enhance dentist’s overall knowledge associated with these changes.