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  • Essay / The Correlation Between How Asthma Medications and Poor Oral Hygiene Lead to Xerostomia in Elderly Patients

    Table of ContentsIntroductionProblem StatementLiterature ReviewDiscussionConclusionRecommendationsIntroduction Aging is a natural physiological process common to all living beings. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a person is considered elderly from the age of 65. The aging population poses new challenges for oral health. Oral health is a state of being free from oral and facial pain, oral infections, dental caries and gum diseases. As older adults live longer and retain more permanent teeth than previous generations, they are more likely to be functionally dependent. Being functionally dependent means having experienced a deterioration in physical abilities due to advanced age and having to rely on the help of others. This is expected to increase the need for dental care and place increased demands on the dental and health care systems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay As the population ages, diseases of the elderly will have increasing prevalence and place a greater burden on the healthcare system. Although asthma is generally considered a disease affecting young people, mortality from asthma is currently highest among those over 55 years of age. Asthma-related symptoms and emergencies weigh heavily on the quality of life of people over 55 with asthma. Asthma in older adults is underdiagnosed due to patient-related and physiological factors. Asthma medication strategies primarily come from younger cohorts, so effective medication strategies have generally not been explored in older adults. Older people with asthma are very concerned about the side effects of medications, so compliance with medication regimens is often poor. Problem Statement Older adults have worse oral health than the general population due to functional problems. The situation is even worse in public clinics, because patients who have suffered from asthma for 3 to 4 years are not aware of the oral manifestations caused by the medications they take, and this is because nurses lack knowledge and training to provide appropriate care. oral health care. Literature Review Chronic illnesses are often the catalyst for physical, psychological, and financial burden. People with asthma often have difficulty managing their condition and making lifestyle changes to include factors such as healthy exercise routines and an appropriate environmental environment. Asthma, which is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, has increased over the past decade with increasing prevalence among children in the United States. It is estimated that a total of 22 million people suffer from asthma, almost 6 million of whom are children. Physical side effects of the illness include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. These symptoms could have a significant impact on the quality of life of the person with asthma due to activity restriction, discomfort, embarrassment and constant worry about their condition. It is crucial to identify these pathologies early and implement appropriate treatment, given that disease patternsBehaviors developed during childhood serve as predictors of disease development in adulthood; thus, poor asthma management during childhood and adolescence can lead to ineffective management in adulthood. According to the Global Health Survey, complete tooth loss affects approximately 30% of people aged 65 to 74. However, prevalence rates are increasing significantly in low- and middle-income countries, particularly among poor and disadvantaged population groups. Poor oral hygiene, tooth loss and diseases due to oral pathogens have been associated with other non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, pneumonia and respiratory diseases. Medications taken to control these systemic diseases in older adults can cause unwanted side effects, the most common being xerostomia, which is dry mouth. This can lead to the development of dental caries, tooth demineralization, tooth sensitivity and/or oral infections. A combination of poor oral hygiene and xerostomia contributes to poor oral health which can later affect nutritional status and overall health and well-being. . For this reason, poor oral health can have a significant impact on an individual's quality of life and ability to carry out daily activities. Xerostomia is dry mouth and it affects people physiologically due to dry mouth which makes it impossible to maintain adequate oral health care due to cracks in the mouth. And it affects people psychologically, especially if it's caused by drugs, because they don't have control over the drugs used to make the drugs. Most people are unaware of xerostomia until it is painful, while some consider it a normal oral condition, due to a lack of information and knowledge. For example, in people taking treatment for asthma, one of the side effects of their medications is xerostomia. In most cases, people affected by xerostomia due to poor oral hygiene due to ignorance or lack of knowledge. The intervention includes patient, nurse, and other institutional collaborations to ensure maximum oral health potential. The use of fluoride is effective in preventing dental caries in older people. Topical application and oral rinsing with fluorides have been shown to reduce the number of carious lesions on the root surface, both in active older adults. According to Persson RE et al, rinsing with chlorhexidine solution tends to reduce gingival inflammation, pocket depth and the incidence of denture stomatitis. Chewing xylitol gums may reduce the prevalence of dental stomatitis, xerostomia, and angular cheilitis. And Schou L. says clinical studies suggest that oral health education for older patients is effective. Materials and Methods: A qualitative research design was applied in this study. This is a cross-sectional study carried out using data from interviews and questionnaires. To assess the oral health status of elderly people, the Revised Oral Assessment Guide (ROAG) was used and to assess the functional status and detect problems in performing activities of daily living, l The KATZ scale was used. The study was conducted in 2 clinics around Seshego. , one being in zone 4, the other in zone 8. The sample size for.