An Overview of Geriatric Oral Health Research in Saudi Arabia: A Literature Review

The number of older adults in Saudi Arabia is increasing and is expected to grow even more over time due to developments in the fields of disease prevention, pharmacology, and medical technology. This review aimed to generate a synopsis of existing literature regarding the oral health of older adults in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Electronic databases, including PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar, were searched using keywords, such as “oral health,” “dental care,” “aged,” “dental caries,” “periodontitis,” “mouth neoplasms,” and “Saudi Arabia.” All study types of geriatric populations in different settings within the Kingdom were included.

A summary of available literature has been provided to illustrate topics related to the prevalence of oral health diseases, including dental caries, periodontal diseases, tooth loss, and oral cancer. Other topics related to oral health behaviors, utilization of services, perceived oral health, and oral health-related quality of life among the same population have also been described.

In summary, the extent of various oral health problems among older adults is high, but the available literature regarding the oral health of this vulnerable group in Saudi Arabia is scarce. Further studies are needed to explore the effectiveness of preventive and therapeutic interventions, factors related to the oral health of the elderly, and the correlation of various chronic health conditions with oral health.