Dr. Steven Katz on Seniors and Smiles

Senior Dental Health: Keeping Natural Teeth, Cleanings, Implants & Root Canals (with Dr. Steven Katz) Host Mike Roth opens Season 8 of Villages Vitality Life: Senior Life Unscripted and interviews Dr. Steven Katz, a DDS/MS endodontist in private practice in Beachwood, Ohio, immediate past President of the American Association of Endodontists and adjunct professor at West Virginia University School of Dentistry. Katz explains how seniors’ oral health needs can change due to narrowed root canals with age, reduced dexterity, and medication side effects like dry mouth or gum inflammation, while emphasizing consistent brushing, flossing, and individualized dental visit frequency. He distinguishes routine cleanings from deep cleanings for plaque and tartar below the gumline and discusses why keeping natural teeth matters for function, confidence, social interaction, and cost. Katz cautions that implants still require ongoing maintenance and can fail, reviews floss and electric toothbrush options, describes links between oral infections and systemic health markers, addresses resorption causes, encourages those avoiding dental care to return, notes many root canals are now completed in one visit, and provides cost ranges and resources to find an endodontist. 00:00 Season Eight Welcome 00:41 Meet Dr Steven Katz 01:45 How Senior Teeth Change 03:34 How Often To Visit 04:38 Cleaning Versus Deep Cleaning 05:56 Why Keep Natural Teeth 07:28 Implants Reality Check 09:24 Medicare And Insurance 10:55 Alzheimers Tip Break 12:13 Daily Care Tips 14:25 Flossing And Products 15:56 Oral Health And Body Health 17:49 Resorption Case Study 19:44 Evidence And Studies 21:31 Back To The Dentist 22:47 Root Canal Visits And Cost 24:16 Contact Info And Wrap Up 24:57 Supporters And Next Episode