A combination of age-related changes means it’s more important than ever to look after oral health as we age. There are food strategies to deploy to keep the mouth healthy, to prevent gum disease and tooth decay, and to counteract a reduction in saliva.
Gradual and significant changes occur in your mouth, gums, teeth, and jaw with advancing years. Discover how to employ foods to boost oral health and maintain it for the future.
Our saliva, produced in three pairs of salivary glands, is 99 per cent water, but it also contains a host of key chemicals that are essential to health, such as electrolytes, mucus, and digestive enzymes. Without saliva, we wouldn’t be able to chew, taste, or swallow food; saliva also keeps the mouth moist between meals. With age, the production of saliva can decline, which can affect how we taste foods as well as our general oral health. Saliva helps to keep teeth clean, which protects them against decay, so lower levels of saliva can mean less protection. Certain foods can promote saliva production.
While you may not be able to see the taste buds on your tongue, they are there in their thousands. The little bumps you do see on your tongue are called papillae, and it’s on top of these tiny projections that the taste buds reside. Taste buds are groups of taste receptors that detect the chemicals dissolved in saliva, which your brain interprets as different flavours. Numbers of taste buds fall with age, which can mean a diminished sense of taste. So, use citrus zests, fresh herbs, and spices to stimulate your taste buds and boost the flavours of foods, rather than adding salt.
Our 9000 taste buds start to decline in number from age 50 and then they shrink from age 60.
Your bones are in a constant state of flux, being broken down and rebuilt to allow for growth and repair throughout life. Bone is made of specialized cells and protein fibres. Bone-making cells (osteoblasts) calcify bone as it forms; osteocytes maintain healthy bone structure; and osteoclasts absorb bone tissue where it is degenerating or not needed. As you get older, the jaw bone in particular suffers with being dissolved more than it’s rebuilt and the shape changes over time. This remodelling may lead to gum problems and tooth loss. So, feed your body with a steady stream of bone-building nutrients.
Teeth are designed to last a long time if you look after them. But a lifetime of biting, chewing, and grinding can wear away the enamel and the flat surfaces of certain teeth. What’s more, acidic foods and drinks can damage the enamel coating, so reduce exposure to such items throughout the day.