Oral health lags in long-term care

Canada is quickly getting older, and dental professionals are paying attention. Projections released by Statistics Canada last year show that in 2036 there will more than twice as many seniors as there were in 2009. As early as 2015, for the first time ever, there will be more seniors than children 14 and under.

The Nova Scotia study on oral health in the aging population was conducted by the Faculty of Dentistry at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Among the conclusions: “Residents of long-term care facilities in Nova Scotia have high rates of edentulism, tooth decay and periodontal disease. Access to professional oral care is limited and a significant proportion of residents do not perform/receive personal oral care at the recommended frequencies.

The study looked at residents across the province, age 45 and older, in the general community as well as in continuing-care facilities. But it was the long-term-care findings that struck many as the most alarming.

In a CBC radio interview, one of the study’s principal investigators, Debora Matthews, DDS, said that a big part of the challenge is that oral health hasn’t been part of the overall health assessment and maintenance strategies these facilities typically employ. “As people enter long-term-care facilities … they have an overall health assessment, but it doesn’t include their oral health. We look at their feet, their hips, at how they walk, at their social interactions, their blood pressure, their level of diabetes, but we don’t look in their mouths,” Matthews said.

Matthews said that incorporating such an assessment into continuing-care protocols would help families and care providers address problems that might otherwise remain undiagnosed. Another team member on the study, Mary McNally, DDS, helped create instructional tools to use in training continuing-care workers. Also, a comprehensive website with detailed tools and guidance is available to continuing-care staff, families and seniors to help improve oral health care.

The “Brushing Up on Mouth Care” toolkit, which contains practical tools and resources, including educational videos for providing oral care in continuing care, is at www.ahprc.dal.ca/projects/oral-care.

The study was supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis; the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation; and Health Canada, Office of Chief Dental Officer.

(Sources: Dalhousie University Faculty of Dentistry, CBC/Radio-Canada)