NICE calls on care homes to prioritise the oral health of residents
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- Published: Wednesday, 25 January 2017 07:52
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Care home residents should be helped to brush their teeth twice a day, says NICE. A new draft quality standard is out for consultation and advises care home staff to assess the oral health needs of their residents on admission and record these in personal care plans. They should then be supported to clean their teeth twice a day or their dentures daily.
NICE, with The Social Care Institute for Excellence, has produced a quick guide resource for care home managers to help them improve the oral health of adults in their care homes. Consultation on the draft quality standard is open until 3 February 2017. As part of the consultation NICE is asking people to highlight any evidence-based guidance that could be used to develop a statement on daily mouth care in hospitals. AGE UK estimates 426,000 people live in care homes, approximately 405,000 of whom are over 65.
Professor Elizabeth Kay MBE, foundation dean of Peninsula Dental School, Plymouth University, professor and consultant in dental public health and specialist committee member, said: “Looking after someone’s mouth should be as much a part of the care expected as ensuring their personal hygiene and providing adequate clean clothing. Helping care home residents with this basic daily routine maintains not only their oral health but, just as importantly, enhances their dignity and self-esteem.”
Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive of NICE, said: “We know that supporting good daily oral health care in care homes varies enormously across the country. “This draft quality standard prioritises assessment of care home residents, recording of plans and ensuring support is in place for those who need it. We are confident that such simple measures could substantially improve the quality of life of many people living in care homes.”
Mick Armstrong, chairman of the British Dental Association (BDA), said maintaining residents’ oral health cannot be an “optional extra” and that the Government needs to ensure the new standards are “more than aspirational”, with proper funding to ensure residents can access dental services.
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