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Dental Care for Patients
in Hospitals & Nursing Homes
West Calgary Dental
Group
Helping with mouth-care for family members who may be critically
and/or chronically ill in a hospital or nursing home is important
to their quality of life. Two important considerations are i)
whether the individual has had good dental health prior to entering
the facility and ii) whether or not they wear dentures.
If the patient has had regular dental care in the past a visit
from an available dental unit representative will likely not be
necessary. The institution’s regular protocol will usually be
enough. There are often dental personnel who rotate through the
facility who may from time to time be useful in answering questions
or doing adjustments, etc. For those who have not had regular care
or those who Tare at higher risk or who have obvious oral disease,
the dental unit (if one exists) will likely be involved on request
from the host nursing unit. They will manage all concerns from that
point.
If the patient wears dentures the caregivers/nurses should be
made aware of this. We recommended hat dentures be removed at night
and cleaned with a soft brush and soapy water twice a day. The
patient’s name should be on the dentures as well; if desired, we
can arrange for this at our office without the patient in
attendance for a small fee.
Other things that affect a patient’s oral health will likely
include the side effects of various medications, depression,
chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and changes in physical
abilities including mobility.
Top Ten Things To Remember:
1) Have a look at the teeth, lips, gums, tongue and quality and
quantity of saliva
2) Notify the staff of unusual findings and make them aware of
regular dental needs
3) Use a very soft brush to clean the teeth or denture
4) Floss the teeth using aids, if necessary
5) Rinse or swab the gums with a specialized mouthwash
a. Peridex by prescription, Biotene or other fluoride preparation
from pharmacy
6) Use other aids to remove plaque such as gauze, a proxibrush or
sulca brush
7) Consider a saliva replacement if suffering from a very dry
mouth
8) The use of baking soda instead of toothpaste (eg. During
chemotherapy) is acceptable
9) Visit the local pharmacy for other formulations/materials that
may be available and those described in this article.
10) Remember that our dental team cares about your situation and
can provide more tips along the way as necessary.
How You May Feel
Most patients remember nothing about their treatment. A few
will remember a little, usually at the end of the appointment when
we are getting them ready to go home. You will need someone to
bring you to our office on the day of your sedation appointment and
you MUST have someone take you home afterwards.
Safety of Sedation
The reason that we use oral sedation is because of its safety.
We use monitoring equipment to monitor your pulse and blood
pressure. You’ll be done before you know it, completely unaware of
the time passing, totally relaxed. | 