Geriatric dentistry is the provision of dental care to older adults, including the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of age-related problems and age-related diseases as part of a specialized team with other health care professionals. The past century has seen a number of striking statistical changes in the health, disease, longevity, and mortality of populations around the world. Currently, one-third of the world's elderly population lives in developing countries, and one in twelve people in these developing countries is over the age of sixty-five. The twentieth century witnessed a significant aging of the global population in terms of life expectancy, and the twenty-first century is set to see significant gains in longevity worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. This increase in life expectancy is primarily due to the significant reduction in mortality rates throughout the lifespan that has occurred with the development of health care facilities, sanitation, environmental and public health improvements coupled with better hygiene and living conditions. As a result of increasing life expectancy, the proportion of elderly people in the total population is expected to be around 25% in India and 32% in developed countries by 2050. Taking this increase in life expectancy into account, the retirement age in many sectors in India is increasing, in some of them it may even reach 70 years. In some states, the retirement age has not been increased due to concerns about the eventual loss of jobs to the younger generation. According to the Government of India’s classification, elderly people are those aged 60 years or above; these citizens become eligible for various exemptions and concessions granted by the government and other agencies. In developing countries, elderly people are those above 65 years. The mouth is considered a mirror of overall health, and hence oral health is an integral part of overall health. Poor oral health in an elderly population is a risk factor for overall health problems. On the other hand, elderly people are more susceptible to oral conditions and diseases due to the increase in chronic conditions and physical and mental disabilities. Thus, the elderly constitute a prominent group with regard to precautionary care. The dental diseases that the elderly are most susceptible to are root caries, erosion, periodontal disease, tooth loss due to early neglect, edentulism, poor quality of the alveolar margin, poorly fitting dentures, mucosal lacerations, oral ulcers, dry mouth, oral cancers, and extensive caries. Many of these are consequences of neglect in the early years of life, e.g. consumption of carious foods, lack of awareness regarding preventive aspects, and habits such as smoking and/or tobacco, frying, and chewing betel nut. All of these problems can be significantly aggravated by the decline in immunity with age and by coexisting health problems. As a result of poor systemic health, elderly patients do not pay enough attention to their oral health. In addition, medications such as antihypertensives, antipsychotics, antianxiety drugs, etc., lead to dry mouth, and the loss of the protective effect of saliva in the oral cavity increases the susceptibility to oral diseases. Financial constraints, lack of family support or transportation are major barriers to accessing dental services in later life. Untreated oral cavity has detrimental effects on comfort, aesthetics, speech, chewing and, consequently, quality of life in old age. The extent of root caries in the elderly can be as high as 1.6 root surfaces for every root surface at risk. The nature of root caries in men is more severe and is more pronounced in the molar area. Several major factors are associated with the development of root caries including decreased salivary flow, poor manual dexterity and systemic infections requiring the use of drugs that cause decreased salivation. In addition, more serious risk factors include erosion of the cementum enamel margin, clinical preparation for a fixed bridge, removable dentures and a restricted diet that includes refined sugars and viscous and fermentable carbohydrates. Prevention and treatment of root caries include topical fluoride application and nutritional counselling on diet planning, prevention of plaque formation and prevention of gum recession. Conservative dental treatment for the elderly must take into account dental, functional and medical considerations to ensure a level of care equivalent to that of younger patients, as well as taking into account the structural changes that have occurred in the tooth and the health status when preparing conservative treatment for the elderly patient. Dental implants have become a strategic measure to replace missing teeth and as a dental component of the treatment plan for elderly patients, dentists should generally consider this type of treatment during their training. The elderly often resort to replacing missing teeth, but they face medical, social and economic complications that must be taken into account when preparing the treatment plan. Dentists should pay full attention to the assessment of the patient's ability, diagnostic criteria and diagnostic procedures to help the patient and his/her family understand the risks and challenges of each type of dental prosthetic treatment. It is important to compare implants with fixed and removable prosthetics. For a large number of dentists, dental implants are becoming a more popular option for replacing missing teeth. With the increasing proportion of the elderly population around the world, dentists will encounter many medically and socially complex cases whose owners desire dental prosthetic treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to increase attention to this branch of dentistry during the period of training of doctors.