CV
Gerry holds a chair in Oral Health Services Research and Gerodontology within the Centre for Public Health at Queens University Belfast where he leads Oral Health Research. His research is centred around optimising treatment options for older patients which positively impact their dental and overall health.
Gerry is the current president of the British Dental Association Northern Ireland Branch and has previously been President of the British Society of Gerodontology, European College of Gerodontology and the Geriatric Oral Research Group within the International Association for Dental Research. He holds a King James IV Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, an adjunct Professorship in University College Cork and is a visiting Professor in both the Federal University of Goais, Brazil and Zurich University, Switzerland.
Oral Health for an Aging Population (OHAP)
Alongside an aging population, we have seen significant changes in the oral epidemiology of older adults globally for a number of decades. Whilst oral health, in terms of natural tooth retention has improved in this population group, older adults are vulnerable to chronic dental diseases. The consequences of oral diseases impact on general health as well as in older adults' mouths. To better understand the consequences of ageing on oral health and function, the concept of oral frailty was defined by the Japanese Dental Association. Whilst the concept of oral frailty has gained acceptance in the scientific literature, this is not something which is embedded within clinical practice in many countries worldwide. The Oral Health for an Ageing Population (OHAP) project has developed a WebApp to help Dental Teams to undertake an assessment of the oral frailty risk-level of their older patients and an Exercise Brochure to help older patients maintain their oral health and prevent signs of oral functional decline. In this session, two members of the OHAP Task Team will provide an overview of oral health in older adults and introduce both the WebApp and the Exercise Brochure.
Learning objectives
- To provide an overview of the oral health of older adults
- To introduce the FDI Frailty Guide WebApp to dentists and dental teams
- To present the FDI OHAP Exercise Brochure and explain how this can be used to prevent oral functional decline