Objectively measured chewing ability was significantly associated with frailty in community-dwelling older Thai adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 860-866.

A scoping review and research synthesis on financing and regulating oral care in long-term care facilities Background: Oral health care for frail elders is grossly inadequate almost everywhere, and our knowledge of regulating and financing oral care in this context is unclear.Objective: This scoping study examined and summarised the published literature available and the gaps in knowledge about regulating and financing oral care in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Methods: We limited the electronic search to reports on regulating and financing oral care, including reports, commentaries, reviews and policy statements on financing and regulating oral health-related services. Results: The broad electronic search identified 1168 citations, which produced 42 references, including 26 pieces of grey literature for a total of 68 papers. Specific information was found on public and private funding of care and on difficulties regulating care because of professional segregation, difficulties assessing need for care, uncertainty on appropriateness of treatments and issues around scope of professional practice. A wide range of information along with 19 implications and 18 specific gaps in knowledge emerged relevant to financing and regulating oral healthcare services in LTC facilities. Conclusions: Effort has been given to enhancing oral care for frail elders, but there is little agreement on how the care should be regulated or financed within the LTC sector.

The aim of this study was to present a concise summary of the oral health policies and oral healthcare schemes for older adult populations in a number of selected countries around the world. In this paper, the current and planned national/regional oral health policies and oral healthcare schemes of nine countries (Australia, Brazil, China including Hong Kong, India, Japan, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are reported. Barriers and challenges in oral health promotion in terms of devising oral health policies, implementing oral health schemes, and educating the future dental workforce are discussed. In response to the aging of population, individual countries have initiated or reformed their healthcare systems and developed innovative approaches to deliver oral health services for older adults. There is a global shortage of dentists trained in geriatric dentistry. In many countries, geriatric dentistry is not formally recognized as a specialty. Education and training in geriatric dentistry is needed to produce responsive and competent dental professionals to serve the increasing number of older adults. It is expected that oral health policies and oral healthcare services will be changing and reforming in the coming decades to tackle the enduring oral health challenges of aging societies worldwide.

No abstract

No abstract