Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Gerodontology
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
Teaching staff
Monday at 3:00 p.m. By appointment via email with the professor: b.olmo@uic.es
Introduction
Gerodontology is the branch of dentistry that studies the aging of the oral cavity and focuses on the prevention, detection, and treatment of oral diseases, as well as the promotion of oral health among older adults.
Pre-course requirements
There are no prerequisites.
Objectives
General objectives:
A. To provide the student with the knowledge, skills and aptitudes required for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of anomalies and diseases of the teeth, mouth, maxilla and tissues of the elderly patient.
B. To train the student in the scientific method applied to the study, evaluation and solving of dental health problems.
C. To prepare the student for future professional self-development.
D. To train the student towards eventual specialisation, research or teaching.
Intermediate objectives:
The intermediate goals of Gerodontology may be summarised as follows:
1. To acquire the skills and attitudes needed for the clinical screening of the elderly patient. To obtain and assess clinical, radiographic and complementary data of the elderly patient and undertake a diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic approach to the patient’s bucodental health condition.
2. To distinguish the characteristics of the diagnosis and therapeutic approach in personalised dental care for the elderly patient.
3. To identify and describe the etiological and risk agents of oral diseases in elderly patients.
4. To train students to perform the main treatment methods and techniques, and in the control and prevention of oral diseases collectively for elderly patients.
5. To master the individual and community educational techniques for elderly patients.
6. To train the student to describe the oral health condition and the dental treatment needs of the different groups of elderly patients.
7. To know and describe the different groups of elderly patients pursuant to their capabilities, their degree of dependency, their social environment and their place of residence.
8. To know the different public health programmes designed for the dental care of the group of elderly patients.
9. Know the management of anxiety through drugs and sedation with nitrous oxide in the elderly patient
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 04 - Understanding and recognising the social and psychological aspects that are relevant in terms of treating patients.
- 05 - Knowing how to apply the correct principles to control anxiety and stress in oneself, in patients and in other memebers of the dentistry team.
- 15 - Being familiar with the general pathological characteristics of the illnesses and disorders that affect organic systems, specifically those which have dental repercussions.
- 20 - Obtaining and creating a medical record containing all the relevant information.
- 21 - Knowing how to undertake a full dental exam, including the necessary X-ray and complementary exploratory tests, as well as obtaining suitable clinical references.
- 23 - Establishing a diagnosis, prognosis and suitable treatment planning for all the different clinical areas of Dentistry, being competent in terms of the diagnosis, prognosis and writing up the dental care plan for patients who require special care, including medically compromised patients (such as diabetics, those with hypertension, a depressed immune system or are anticoagulated, etc) and patients with disabilities.
- 25 - Being aware of and applying basic treatment for the most common dental pathology in patients of all ages. The treatment procedures must be based on the concept of minimally invasive surgery and an overall and comprehensive focus on dental treatment.
- 28 - Acquiring clinical experience under suitable supervision.
- 41 - Being aware of the behavioural and communication sciences which facilitate dental practice
- 46 - Providing a comprehensive approach to oral care and applying principles to promote good oral health and the prevention of oral and dental diseases
- 47 - Educating and motivating patients in the area of oral and dental diseases, controlling pathogenic oral habits,
- 59 - Knowing the oral manifestations of systemic diseases
- 60 - Knowing about general and clinical pharmacology for dental practice
- 61 - Knowing the pharmacological grounding for the various anaesthetic techniques, both local and general, as well as the role of sedation and general anaesthesia in terms of managing dental patients
- 63 - Having knowledge of human nutrition, particularly the connection between nutritional habits or diet with the maintenance of good health and the prevention of oral and dental diseases
- 64 - Undertaking basic oral and dental pathology treatments for patients of all ages. The treatment procedures should be minimally invasive and based on a comprehensive and integrated approach to oral and dental treatment
- 69 - Identifying patients who require special care, recognising the characteristics and peculiarities of such cases
- 72 - Appropriate medical prescriptions, while being aware of their guidelines and warnings, systemic effects and repercussions on other organs
- 92 - Pre-professional practicums, in a rotational dental clinic with a final evaluation of competences, which allow for the incorporation of professional values, healthcare communication competences, clinical reasoning and management, and critical judgement. This must also include clinical work by the students on patients of all ages and conditions, in a comprehensive manner and under suitable supervision.
Learning outcomes of the subject
- 2.05 - Apply the principles of controlling oneself anxiety and stress, over patients and other members of the dental team
- 2.36 - Make diagnostic tests to determine the risk of caries
- 2.37 - Advertise preventive treatment based on caries risk
- 3.01 - Identify the most important characteristics of the different groups of medicines: pharmacological activity, mechanism of action, indications, dosage, contraindications and adverse effects.
- 3.02 - Using information sources of Pharmacology
- 3.03 - Know the most relevant precautions in prescribing and administering medications in the dental patient in relation to their own pathology and concomitant medication.
- 3.07 - Obtain and develop a medical history that includes all relevant information
- 3.09 - Control of anamnesis and basic general physical examination
- 3.18 - Learn the techniques of anxiety control
- 3.19 - Know the pharmacological treatment of pain
- 4.030 - Know how to derive, when necessary, to other professionals or centers, complex treatments or medically compromised patients.
- 4.032 - Differentiate pain according to origin
- 4.034 - Differentiate pain according to the characteristic of the pain
- 4.082 - Determine the caries risk of a patient
- 4.083 - Establish treatment plans in a patient with a high risk for tooth decay
- 4.084 - Use diagnostic means of dental caries
- 4.085 - Diagnose caries harms
- 4.086 - Establish the need to carry out a filling on a carious lesion
- 4.087 - Remove the carious tissue from a carious lesion with maximum respect to the remaining tooth structure
- 4.088 - Select the means of removing carious dentin according to the characteristics of the lesion
- 4.132 - Know the general principles of interdisciplinary treatment in adults
- 4.133 - Acquire the discipline to focus interdisciplinary treatments
- 4.135 - Know the indications and contraindications of each type of dental prosthesis
- 4.136 - - Assess the patient candidate for a dental prosthesis by performing a medical history, a study of models and complementary explorations that correspond in each specific case; and from this information identify the patient's aesthetic and functional demands and establish a diagnosis, prognosis and develop a treatment plan
- 4.137 - Identify patients requiring a multidisciplinary treatment to achieve therapeutic goals, and be able to work on the treatment.
- 5.01 - Integrate, organize and implement all the knowledge acquired during the degree to provide adequate and comprehensive dental care to the patient.
- 5.02 - Conduct a multidisciplinary, sequential and integrated dental treatment of the patient of any age or condition.
- 5.03 - Make the right treatment according to the individual needs of each patient and have to be objective and valid, suitable with current therapy, quality and congruent.
- 5.05 - Collect accurate and documented information on a research topic of an area of dentistry
Syllabus
DIFFERENTIAL ASPECTS OF THE ELDERLY'S MEDICAL HISTORY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the concepts of "Healthy Aging" and "Active Aging"
• Assess macro and microscopic differences at the level of tooth, periodonto, ATM, oral mucosa, sense organs, oral musculature and salivary glands between the elderly patient and the rest of the population.
PHYSIOLOGY OF Aging
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know concepts related to health: illness, health, well-being and quality of life, disability.
• Know the biomedical, social and biopsychosocial models of disease.
• Know concepts related to the life cycle: maturity, aging, life expectancy, longevity.
• Know the main theories that explain aging.
• Assess the requirements of "physiological" aging versus "pathological" aging.
• Know the impact of physiological aging on the different systems of the organism.
DERMATOLOGICAL AND MUCOUS LESIONS IN THE ELDERLY
UNIT MUCOUS LESIONS
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the variants of normality in the mucosa of the elderly.
• Differentiate the morphology of elemental mucosal lesions.
• Distinguish injuries caused by mechanical, ytrogenic or poorly fitted prosthetic agents.
• Distinguish injuries caused by tobacco, alcohol, medications in the mucosa of the elderly patient.
• Distinguish the most common viral, bacterial or fungal lesions in the elderly.
• Know the cancerous and precancerous lesions of highest prevalence.
UNIT ORAL MYCOSIS
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the different types of pathogenic action that fungi can develop.
• Know what conditions are that in the elderly patient favor the development of fungi in general and thrush in particular.
• Know the clinic and forms of oral thrush. Prosthetic stomatitis.
• Know the diagnostic and treatment means of oral thrush.
OROFACIAL PAIN IN THE ELDERLY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Classification of pain of oral origin.
• Characteristics of the different types of oral pain that have the highest prevalence in the elderly.
PRINCIPLES OF PHARMACOLOGY IN THE ELDERLY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the specific differential aspects in the use of drugs by the elderly.
• Assess the action of drugs in the body of the elderly.
• Know the factors that modify the response, distribution, absorption, metabolism and elimination of drugs.
• Know the adverse reactions to drugs (RAM), their types and the main producers.
• Recognize the most common manifestations of RAM in the elderly.
• Assess the meaning of drug interactions.
• Know the general principles of pharmacological prescription in the elderly and their routes of administration.
PSYCHOGERIATRY AND PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the types and treatments of anxiety disorders.
• Know the characteristics of affective disorders in old age.
• Know the characteristics of cognitive disorders in old age
• Know the characteristics of paranoid disorders in old age.
• Know the characteristics of dyskinesia and its repercussions.
• Assess the faculties that may affect the development of dental treatment.
• Know the impact of substance abuse.
• Know the impact of insomnia on the elderly.
• Know and rate antidepressants and their effects.
• Know and value the effect of anxiolytics and hypnotics.
• Know and assess the effect of neuroleptics.
• Know the specificities of dental tto in patients with dementia disorders.
RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY IN THE ELDERLY PATIENT
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the specificities of preparations in the elderly.
• Know the specificities of periapical octopus pathologies in the elderly and their treatment.
• Know the implications of yatrogenic factors and suddenness wear and tear in the elderly patient.
• Know the clinical and treatment aspects that are important in the endodontics of the elderly patient.
SOCIOLOGY OF Aging
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the heterogeneity of classification by age group of elderly patient.
• Know the demographic aspects of old age in our country.
• Assess problems related to the economy, retirement and economic benefit systems in the elderly.
• Conceptualize "active aging".
• Assess the cross-cutting determinants related to health, behavioral, personal and physical systems in active aging.
• Recognize the challenges that an ageing population creates for society.
AGING AND NUTRITION
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the implications of variations in body composition in the elderly patient.
• Understand the physical changes that condition a different diet.
• Know the influence of physical activity and psychosocial and health changes on nutrition.
• Know the minimum nutritional needs of the elderly patient.
• Know the nutritional needs of the elderly patient in special pathological situations.
XEROSTOMY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the pathophysiology of saliva.
• Assess the factors that modify salivary flow.
• Know age-specific salivary changes.
• Assess drug-induced salivary changes.
• Describe the drugs that most commonly produce xerostomy.
• Know the diseases that are associated with xerostomy.
• Know the clinic and diagnostic tests of xerostomy.
• Treat xerostomy symptomatically and specifically.
PHARMACOLOGY APPLIED TO THE ELDERLY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the management and interactions of the main drugs of use among older adult patients.
• Assess the side effects of transcendence in dentistry of the most commonly used drugs among the elderly.
• Know the pharmacological management of anxiety and sedation techniques with nitrous oxide.
CARIES IN THE ELDERLY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the epidemiological characteristics of cavities in the elderly patient.
• Assess the factors related to the etiology of root de cavities and the positive predictive factors associated with it.
• Describe ways to diagnose and classify root de cavities.
• Differentiate between active and inactive root de cavities.
• Know the criteria and rates of population diagnosis of root cavities.
• Use root de cavity prevention mechanisms.
PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY IN THE ELDERLY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Describe the population characteristics of the elderly patient.
• Analyze the current situation of an elderly population.
• Know the elements of a prevention program aimed at older patients.
• Develop a prevention program for the elderly.
• Track the program.
SURGERY ON THE ELDERLY PATIENT
UNIT ORAL CANCER
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the epidemiology of oral cancer in the elderly patient.
• Assess the etiology and triggers of greatest importance in the elderly patient.
• Recognize the most prevalent oral pathologies that can lead to cancer in the elderly patient.
• Assess the clinical and pathological manifestations of oral cancer.
• Know the therapeutic approaches in the elderly.
UNIT IMPLANTS IN THE ELDERLY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the peculiarities of implant use in elderly patients.
• Assess the influence of age on prognosis, indications and contraindications, results and complications regarding implant management.
THE INSTITUTIONALIZED ELDER
UNIT ORAL TO INSTITUTIONALIZED CARE PROGRAMS
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Describe the population characteristics of the institutionalized elder.
• Know the guidelines for the design of global dental care programs to the institutionalized elder.
PROSTHETICS IN THE ELDERLY
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the data that epidemiological surveys refer to prosthetic carriers in older adult patients.
• Know the recommendations that national health surveys make in relation to the elderly.
• Assess the clinical, technical and processing aspects of removable prostheses in older adult patients.
• Assess the clinical, technical and processing aspects of fixed prostheses in older adult patients.
• Assess the clinical, technical and processing aspects of implant and overdentation prostheses in older adult patients.
THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the models of public health care.
• Know the "Catalan assistance model", its structure, its benefits and its organization.
• Know the scope of public provision in Gerodontology and special patients in Spain.
FOUNDATIONS OF GERIATRICS
At the end of this unit the student will be able to:
• Know the fundamental aspects of the elderly patient.
• Place the Evolution of Geriatrics in history.
• Identify large geriatric syndromes.
• Assess the atypical signs of disease presentation.
• Conceptualize the comprehensive geriatric assessment process.
• Know the advantages of Integral Geriatric Valuation and the instruments to realize it.
• Know the criteria of fragility and risk and the valuation scales to measure them.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
"In Catalonia, Spain, the recording of voice without consent may be regulated by the Organic Law on Personal Data Protection and Digital Rights Guarantee (LOPDGDD), as well as by the Law on the Protection of Personal Data of Catalonia (LPDPCC). Under these laws, consent of individuals is generally required to record their voice, especially in situations where a reasonable degree of privacy is expected, such as in a classroom. Without proper consent, recording someone's voice could be considered a violation of their right to privacy."
Lectures
Topics will be presented with computer-based support.
Practical SeminarsAttendance is mandatory. Attendance will be taken. A maximum of 2 justified absences is allowed (documented justification must be submitted no later than the week following the seminar).
Clinical cases will be discussed in a participatory manner, followed by continuous assessment through an online platform.
Students must bring a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone to the seminar.
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Group members will be assigned in alphabetical order.
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Groups will generally consist of 5 members.
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Erasmus students may participate in group communications without the need for all members to be physically present.
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The in-class presentation will be delivered by one member of the group. Individual questions regarding the presentation may be asked of all members.
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Erasmus students are exempt from attending the in-class presentation; however, at least one member of the group must be responsible for delivering it. Erasmus students must present online.
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The best presentations may be submitted to the annual SEGER congress under the supervision of a professor.
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Presentations must be accompanied by a preliminary Word document and a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the work carried out, following the established guidelines. The criteria for their preparation will be explained in class.
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Professors will be available to assist students with any questions that may arise during the preparation process.
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Topics will be assigned to each group, and a list of members and assigned topics will be published.
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During the last seminar sessions, the projects will be presented and defended orally.
Students will develop their competences at the CUO by providing care for older patients, integrated with general clinical practice.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
LECTURES
The exam will consist of 40 multiple-choice questions, each with 5 possible answers and only one correct. Each incorrect answer will deduct 0.20 points.
PRACTICAL SEMINARSThe exam will consist of 10 multiple-choice questions, each with 5 possible answers and only one correct. Each incorrect answer will deduct 0.20 points.
Only students who have attended the seminars, with a maximum of 2 justified absences, may take this part of the exam. Documentation must be submitted no later than the week following the absence.
Continuous assessment will be carried out through an online platform.
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The exam represents 60% of the final grade.
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The presentations represent 10% of the final grade.
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The CUO practical activity represents 30% of the final grade.
To pass the course, students must pass all components (exam, presentations, and CUO activity) individually.
No grades from any component will be carried over to subsequent exam sessions. Therefore, any student failing one component, and thus the course as a whole, must repeat all components in subsequent exam sessions (except for the CUO activity, if already passed).
Bibliography and resources
- Sociedad Española de Gerodontología. Gerodontología. Ed. Sociedad Española de Gerodontología. 2012.
- Sociedad Española de Gerodontología. Gerodontología. Ed. Sociedad Española de Gerodontología. 2023. (2ª edition)
- Oral Health care in geriatric patiens. Ship J. 2005. Editorial B.C. DECKER.
- Clinicians Guide to Common Geriatric Oral Conditions. Ship J. 2006 . Editoral B.C. DECKER.
- Cuidado de la salud bucal y el anciano frágil. Una perspectiva clínica. MacEntee, M. 2012. Editorial Amolca.
- Tesis Oral: Health Survey of a population living in nursing homes in Catalonia. February 2014.
- Tesis Oral: Estudio doble ciego de la eficacia de una solución de ácido hialurónico en espray en el alivio sintomático del dolor y en la disminución del tiempo de cicatrización de las lesiones ulceradas de la mucosa oral. Enero 2011.
- Olmo, B., (31/03/2019), "Hipertensión arterial y Odontología". Editorial Académica Española. ISBN: 978-613-9-43434-3.
- Principios de geriatría y Gerontología. José C. Millán 2006. Editorial Mcgraw-Hill.
- Medicina Geriátrica. P.Abizanda. 2012. Editorial Masson. Julio 2017.
- TEXTBOOK OF GERIATRIC DENTISTRY. Ed. Munksgaard.Copenhagen
- Oral Healthcare and The Frail Elder. Ed. Wiley-Blackwell. Vancouver. Canada
- Bullón Fernández P, Velasco Ortega E. Odontoestomatología geriátrica: la atención odontológica integral del paciente de edad avanzada. Ed. SmithKline Beecham, Madrid. 1996
- Guillén Llera F, Bravo Fernández de Araoz G. Patología del envejecimiento. Indicadores de salud. En: Salgado Alba A, Guillén Llera F, Ruipérez I, editores. Manual de Geriatría. 3.ª ed. Barcelona: Masson; 2003. p. 77-88.
- Cruz-Jentoft AJ. Características específicas del enfermo mayor. An Med Interna (Madrid) 2000; 17 (monogr. 2): 3-8.
- Velasco Ortega E. Implantología Oral Geriátrica. El tratamiento con Implantes Dentales en los Adultos Mayores. Atlantis editorial 2019.
- Odontogeriatría. Rehabilitacion oral del paciente mayor. Dr.Jimmy Matiz Cuervo . Editorial Impresión médica 2013
- Odontogeriatría y gerodontología. Soluciones a la problemática de salud oral en el adulto mayor. Dr. Jimmy Matiz Cuervo. Universidad Nacional de Colombia . Ed Produmedios 2006.
- Odontogeriatría y Gerodontología. Rosa diana Hernandez Palacios y cols. Ed. Trillas. 2011.
Evaluation period
- E1 12/01/2026 A02 15:00h
- E1 12/01/2026 A01 15:00h
- E1 12/01/2026 A03 15:00h
- R1 28/01/2026 A06 10:00h
- E2 29/06/2026 A01 15:00h
- R2 01/07/2026 A26 10:00h