Oral care perspectives of professionals in nursing homes for the elderly

Abstract

To improve oral care, there are opportunities to work with existing structures and clarify responsibilities and key processes. Oral care should be included in nursing work as a more highly prioritized task, and nurses' knowledge needs to be enhanced. A network of activities at all levels is needed to implement oral care in nursing care.

Occurrence of oral health problems and planned measures in dependent older people in nursing care

“…This study shows conflicting results regarding the reluctance of older people to receive support with oral care in relation to other studies (Lindqvist et al., ; Wårdh et al., ; Willumsen, Karlsen, Naess, & Bjørntvedt, ). After the oral assessment was performed, less than 5% of the participants declined the planned measures.…”

“…The result suggests that, although there is an identified need of oral care support for many older people, their need for support was not registered and were not either addressed by the nursing home staff. An explanation for this neglect may be lack of knowledge or a sense of discomfort among the nursing staff in performing oral care (Lindqvist et al., ; Wårdh et al., ). One way of improving the nursing staff's capabilities could be to focus on collaboration between dental professionals and healthcare professionals regarding oral health work.…”

Oral health matters for the nutritional status of older persons—A population‐based study

“…With an increasing ageing population comprising individuals with more of their own natural teeth (Norderyd et al, ; Nitsche & Müller, ), there is a need for cooperation among professionals within dentistry and nursing care. However, when working with the older people, improvements in knowledge and strategies are needed (Batchelor, ; Lindqvist, Seleskog, Wårdh, & von Bültzingslöwen, ), which involves both nursing professionals, that is, knowledge about oral health and prevention, and dental professionals, that is, knowledge about older people (Batchelor, ; Murray Thomson, ). Assessment tools, such as the ROAG‐J and the MNA‐SF, seem to be valuable in daily nursing care.…”

Oral health in residential aged care: Perceptions of nurses and management staff

“…Finally, there was a consensus among participants, as well as care staff in the previous study that difficulties in accessing both public and private dental care posed a major barrier in ensuring good oral health for their residents. Concerns raised by nursing and management staff centred around a lack of cohesion between the RACF services and dental care due to referral and transport difficulties, which are concerns also highlighted in previous studies (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & The University of Adelaide, ; University of Adelaide, ; Lindqvist et al, ; Paley et al, ; Webb et al, ). To overcome this barrier, nursing and management staff placed high priority on the implementation of a formal referral pathway, via which individuals eligible for free dental care in public dental services (Centre for Oral Health Strategy, ) could have priority access to dental care, as waiting periods exist for this pathway.…”