Care partner–assisted intervention to improve oral health for older adults with cognitive impairment: A feasibility study

Abstract

Poor oral health has a significant effect on the overall health and well-being of older adults, and negatively influences functional ability, diet and nutrition. 1,2 Despite the fact that poor oral health is common among older adults, it is often an overlooked area of healthy aging. 3,4 Poor oral health is increasingly linked to adverse health outcomes, including chronic pain, aspiration pneumonia, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 5 Poor oral health is especially pronounced among cognitively impaired older adults, including

Oral Health, Diabetes, and Inflammation: Effects of Oral Hygiene Behaviour

“…Good oral hygiene practice (eg, brushing and flossing) can effectively remove plaque and decrease gingival inflammation. 16 , 17 Maintaining good oral hygiene is critical for preventing periodontal disease. The current study aimed to assess direct and indirect relationships between having both poor oral health and DM and CRP levels as well as test the mediating effect of oral hygiene practice (i.e., flossing) on the relationship.…”

Oral health care services for community‐dwelling older people with dementia: A scoping review

“…Wu et al also showed that dental plaque levels and gingival inflammation were reduced. They furthermore demonstrated good feasibility of an informal caregiver‐assisted intervention on daily oral hygiene care 20 …”

“…The studies have been conducted in Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom. The four cohort studies described a telephone help line on oral health and dementia, 17 a mobile geriatric dental programme in adult day health centres, 18 the effect of a preventive oral health care intervention 19 and the feasibility of an informal caregivers‐assisted intervention to improve the oral hygiene of community‐dwelling older people with a cognitive impairment 20 . The studies assessed a representative selection of the population.…”

“…To summarise, two oral health services were described, 17,18 while a need was found for services and strategies specific to community‐dwelling older people with dementia that focus on: (1) individually tailored daily oral hygiene self‐care, which can be supported or lead by the informal caregiver and is part of preventive oral health care 19,20,22 ; (2) increased accessibility of the oral health care professional, for example via better partnerships between informal caregivers and oral health care professionals 23 ; and (3) clearer care pathways for treatment at other locations than the oral health care professionals' practices 18,23 ; and (4) better collaboration among health care professionals and exchange of knowledge about the importance of good oral health care 17,23 . Finally, development of a tool for informal caregivers and oral health care professionals to assess oral pain for people living with dementia could provide more means to improve detection of oral pain and discomfort 23 …”

“…Tuuliainen et al 19 and Wu et al 20 showed that there is a lack of daily oral hygiene care skills among older people with dementia or/ and their informal caregiver. Daily oral hygiene care improved when individually targeted oral health-related preventive interventions TA B L E 1 (Continued)…”