Nursing Facilities
Education of nursing staff is critical.
Consider the following facts:
- 1.5 million elders live in nursing facilities.
- Medicare and Medicaid require oral health assessments and care for residents.
- However, studies show oral care is not consistently delivered. Only 16% receive any oral care, and average brushing time in one study was 16 seconds.
- 70-90% of residents cannot brush their own teeth or care for dentures.
References
Branson B, Simmer-Beck M, Addressing the oral health needs of long term care facility residents. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. 2013;11(8):31–35.
Johnson VB, Evidence-based practice guidelines: oral hygiene care for functionally dependent and cognitively impaired older adults. J Gerontol Nurs. 2012; 38:11–19.
Stein PS and Henry R, Poor oral hygiene in long-term care. American Journal of Nursing 2009; 109(44): 44-50.
Bassim CW, and Gibson G et al. Modification of the risk of mortality from pneumonia with oral hygiene care. JAGS 2008; 56(9):1601-1607.
Sjögren P, Nilsson E, and Forsell M et al. A systematic review of the preventive effect of oral hygiene on pneumonia and respiratory tract infection in elderly people in hospitals and nursing homes: effect estimates and methodological quality of randomized controlled trials. J Am Geriatr Soc 2008; 56: 2124–2130.
Coleman P and Watson NM, Oral Care provided by certified nursing assistants in nursing homes. J Am Geriat Soc 2006; 54(1):138-143.
Werner CA, The Older Population, U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Briefs. Accessed on 9/20/2021
Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute. 42 CFR 483.25 – Quality of care. Available at: law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/42/483.25. Accessed 9/20/2021.
Al-Sulaiman A, Jones J, Geriatric oral health care delivery in the United States of America. Current Oral Health Reports. 2016; 3(3):164-170.