Strengthening geriatric oral health care through interprofessional education: policy and practice implications

Background: The global population is aging rapidly, and India is entering a phase of rapid demographic transition, similar to already super-aged societies like Japan and several European nations. As a result, older adults are increasingly retaining their natural dentition while living with multimorbidity, polypharmacy, cognitive decline, and functional impairment. However, dental education systems remain largely procedure-centric and disconnected from medicine and allied health. This misalignment has significant implications for patient safety, workforce readiness, and the sustainability of the health system. Objective: This Policy & Practice Review critically examines existing policies, accreditation standards, and educational practices governing geriatric oral health education, with a specific focus on India and global comparative perspectives. It evaluates interprofessional education (IPE) as a policy tool for curricular reform and assesses its implications for regulators, academic institutions, and health systems. Methods: A structured narrative policy review was conducted utilizing peer-reviewed literature from PubMed and Scopus, alongside official global and national repositories. Evidence was synthesized from World Health Organization (WHO) frameworks, international accreditation standards (e.g., CODA, ADEE, IPEC), and Indian national policies (NPHCE, Ayushman Bharat) from 2010 to 2025. Documents were evaluated based on their relevance to geriatric competencies, interprofessional education (IPE) models, and health system outcomes in India and selected comparator nations (Japan and Brazil). Findings: Across regions, a persistent "geriatric gap" in dental curricula is evident, characterized by insufficient exposure to frail older adults, inconsistent competency definitions, and limited integration with primary care and long-term care systems. Countries that have incorporated oral health within healthy aging and long-term care policies demonstrate stronger alignment between education and practice. Evidence suggests that IPE-based geriatric curricula enhance learner attitudes, diagnostic reasoning, and care coordination, leading to improved patient outcomes. Actionable recommendations: To address these challenges, it is crucial to mandate interprofessional geriatric competencies within accreditation standards, integrate oral health into national healthy aging policies (including India's National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly), and align reimbursement with preventive, team-based care. Conclusion: Geriatric oral health education must be prioritized as a policy and practice imperative. Coordinated reforms across education, regulation, and financing are essential to build an age-ready oral health workforce.