In their own words: Elderly people reveal what stops them visiting the dentist

In a series of focus groups involving people over 65 years old, researchers discovered exactly what barriers they face when it comes to looking after their teeth.

The most common major barriers which were identified included anxiety, poor general health, cost and the physical aspect of being unable to travel to a dentist.

Many of those interviewed described that as they aged they found brushing their teeth difficult due to forgetfulness, with one respondent saying, “You become shaky and have bad sight, you don’t care in the same way as you get older.”

Complications regarding access and ill health were also major issues identified. A participant added, “You have to book transport or ask someone to drive. It gets complicated with everything… there are a lot of factors to take into account”, while another said, “I’ve been so ill that I haven’t got around to it”.

Others revealed they were still affected by dental anxiety, as one person confessed, “I’ve been scared of the dentist my whole life, I was ready to faint, I was petrified”.