Oral Health in Care Homes
Healthwatch Warrington have undertaken a project looking at the delivery of oral health support in care homes. This was highlighted as a concern for us because the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has identified the oral hygiene of care home residents, both older people and those with a learning disability, to be an issue across the country.
Oral Health in Care Homes Report
In keeping with the recommendations of NICE, most of the care home managers said that they had a policy in place for looking after residents’ oral health.
The role of families was significant in ensuring the oral health of residents. It was clear from the feedback that some families were taking responsibility for ensuring access to a dentist including taking their family member to the dentist on a regular basis. From the interviews it was also sometimes the case that families were providing oral health equipment such as toothbrushes and toothpaste and this was not provided by the care home as might be expected.
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Oral Health Care in Care Homes
