The elderly population is rapidly increasing, reflecting the fact that better pre‐ and post‐natal care, better nutrition, immunizations, antibiotics, and better general hygiene have reduced infant, childhood and young adulthood mortality. There are now more of us around to live longer. It is therefore important to develop gerontologic research programs aimed at understanding the normal aging process. We need to know what age‐related changes are irreversible concomitants of the passage of time and what age‐related changes are associated with various diseases, life‐styles and cultures. It is possible that life‐style, diet and genetic characteristics, which retard or accelerate aging, can be identified and thus have major public health implications. Aging brings about an unusual immunologic situation that has not yet been thoroughly explained. The primary effect of normal aging on the immune system appears to be a decrease in thymus derived or T‐cell functional capacity, especially in the suppressor subpopulation of T‐cells. There is also an age associated hyperglobulinemia with an increase in normal autoantibody titer. Thus, one can propose that the T supressor inhibition of B lymphocytes is released in older individuals, allowing B cells an increase in functional response, especially to “slightly altered” self. The implications of these changes to the processes of chronic destructive periodontitis and oral cancer must be explained and eventually understood if we are to prevent and/or succ
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