 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Thomas H. Beebe, PhD, Office of Military Programs, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Mailcode 6828, Carbondale, IL 62901-6828, 618-536-3388, tbeebe@siu.edu and Sandra Nagel Beebe, RDH, PhD, Health Care Professions, Dental Hygiene, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 69 Roosevelt Rd., Carbondale, IL 62901.
The oral health care practitioners of tomorrow will be working with a population that is increasingly older than the number of elderly patients seen today in their practices. Although most of their patients will be healthy and function at a high level, others will face complicated, complex, medical, and financial problems.
Addressing the geriatric patient whose societal or social status precludes relational care and is rather dependent upon the public health sector for care and treatment has been largely absent in most federal programs and legislation. We can no longer wait to develop a public health agenda for treating these patients.
The demand for oral health care needs of the aging population will be examined. Special emphasis will be placed on meeting the needs of those patients not covered by traditional insurance plans and/or who do not receive regular dental care.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Special Populations, Elderly
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.