People in residential or continuing care have an equal right to good oral health as people residing in the community. Entry to residential or continuing care provides an opportunity to assess need, identify problems, improve oral and dental health thereby contributing to improved general health and quality of life. This document provides guidance to establish standards for oral health care which are appropriate to the needs, demands and choices of individuals whether they live in continuing or residential care (Appendix 5).
Multiple sclerosis is a complex neurological condition affecting sensory and motor nerve transmission. Its progression and symptoms are unpredictable and vary from person to person as well as over time. Common early symptoms include visual disturbances, facial pain or trigeminal neuralgia and paraesthesia or numbness of feet, legs, hands and arms. These, plus symptoms of spasticity, spasms, tremor, fatigue, depression and progressive disability, impact on the individual's ability to maintain oral health, cope with dental treatment and access dental services. Also, many of the medications used in the symptomatic management of the condition have the potential to cause dry mouth and associated oral disease. There is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and treatment focuses on prevention of disability and maintenance of quality of life. Increasingly a multi-disciplinary team approach is used where the individual, if appropriate his/her carer, and the specialist nurse are key figures. The dental team plays an essential role in ensuring that oral health impacts positively on general health.
The dental team should be aware of the potential social impact of childhood disability on families, in addition to understanding the medical, behavioural and dental factors that have an impact on oral health. Janet Griffiths explains.
In the first of a series of articles, Janet Griffiths defines special care dentistry and explains how the Disability Discrimination Act influences the delivery of oral health care to disabled people.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.