Journal of Disability and Oral Health
- Cover Date:
- June 2010
- Print ISSN:
- 1470-8558
- Vol:
- 11
- Issue:
- 2
Oral health policy and access to dentistry in care homes
This study had the aim of exploring factors which may facilitate or impede access to dental care and arrangements within the care home to maximise oral health of residents by undertaking a survey of care home managers. Design: A survey questionnaire was designed and posted to 90% of the care home managers in Wales. The remaining 10% of managers were contacted for face-to-face interviews. The questions covered arrangements to ensure regular dental care, access to routine and emergency dental care, facilities on site for delivering dental care, residents requiring assistance with oral hygiene and related staff training, and whether diets were based upon assumptions that residents have dentures or trouble chewing food. Results: The questions used in the questionnaire have identified a number of issues of interest to those commissioning and inspecting services. These include, weaknesses in arrangements for ensuring all residents in care homes have suitable assessments on admission, difficulty in accessing both routine and emergency dental care, training issues for staff who are assisting residents with oral hygiene, and assumptions made about the ability of residents to chew food, which is affecting the range of food offered. Conclusions: This survey has highlighted issues which will be of interest to those commissioning, providing and inspecting care homes and those commissioning dental services in Wales. Needs assessment regarding oral health of care home residents should include care planning, oral health and dental access arrangements in the home.
Key words: Needs, elderly, care home, dental
- Article Price
- £15.00
- Institution Article Price
- £
- Page Start
- 0
- Page End
- 0
- Authors
- N Monaghan, M Z Morgan, M Phil
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