Challenges Experienced by Aging Adults in Dental Implant Self-Care

Objective: The use of dental implants will likely continue expanding among growing populations of older adults. Substantial demands for maintenance and repair can also be anticipated for oral implant prostheses with time. However, little is known about how aging older adults perceive these ongoing demands particularly in light of potential age-related infirmities. The objective of this study was to explore the challenges or problems that aging older adults with dental implants may experience. Methods: Four participants were selected each with implant prostheses in one edentate jaw, and including one male and three female adults at least 74 years of age. The implants had been in place for 13 to 17 years anchoring a fixed prosthesis in one upper jaw, and removable dentures in one upper and two lower jaws. The participants were asked open-ended questions on their perceptions of day to day challenges or problems with their dental implants. Emerging themes were identified in verbatim transcripts of the audio-taped interviews. Results: All participants reported areas of compromised access to oral self-care and all perceived a continuing elevation in their awareness of the importance of ongoing oral care. Preliminary findings revealed four emerging themes: learning how to use and care for dental implants was initially very challenging, specialized implant care products were difficult to find in retail stores, accessing required dental expertise while traveling abroad was difficult and sometimes upsetting, and some participants and their spouses expressed concern with who would assist in maintenance should they lose independence. Conclusion: Although there is growing evidence of the long-term biological and prosthetic maintenance required for dental implants, the findings of this study suggest that we should also pursue patient perceptions of the challenges posed by ongoing care of oral implants, including identifying how implant patients cope or manage with such challenges.