Gentle dental care

I started working as a dental nurse 15 years ago and qualified as a dental hygienist and dental therapist in 2009. I have always been passionate about oral health education and realised early in my career that oral care in the elderly – particularly in care homes – can be challenging. Last year, I joined many other volunteers who work with the wonderful charity BrushUpUK and I began visiting care homes to educate carers on oral health care for their residents.

From my experience, care homes are very busy places and face many challenges. I aim to give the staff knowledge and advice to improve their residents’ oral health and comfort and, hopefully, try to prevent some issues – or identify them early. There are very few dentists who provide domiciliary care and care home staff or family members are usually required to take residents for their dental visits. For some elderly people, this can be quite straightforward as they are physically able and have good help in place. For others, with complex health issues and reduced family help this can be extremely challenging. It is recommended that everyone should see a dentist at least annually – even those who are edentulous. The check up includes a soft tissue exam that potentially could detect oral cancer.