Oral Care

Oral Care Gap Analysis

Organizational assessment tool to assist with implementation and evaluation of the RNAO Oral Health: Supporting Adults Who Require Assistance (2nd ed.) by comparing current practice to evidence-based practice. 

This table provides approaches and interventions that staff can use for providing  oral care for residents with responsive behaviours, communication or functional impairment.

Website http://www.rgpc.ca.

Copyright 2013.

A self directed learning tool that is designed to help familiarise the user with common oral health conditions experienced by the elderly. With use of photographs, the user is guided through 8 categories of oral health: lips, tongue, gums, saliva, natural teeth, dentures, oral cleanliness and dental pain. You are prompted to assess your knowledge by choosing if the oral health condition is, “healthy, changes or unhealthy” by clicking and submitting an answer.

Source: Government of South Australia © 2012 SA Health

This fact sheet provides signs and symptoms of dry mouth and treatment options. Topics covered include: how saliva functions, causes, risk factors, prevention, treatment and maintenance interventions.

This website offers a workbook with 10 accompanying videos to help long-term care home staff to learn techniques to provide better oral care to their residents. 

This resource lists medications that can have an impact on oral health.

This link takes you to the website of the University of Manitoba Rady Faculty of Health Sciences' collection of long term care fact sheets and video clips which can be used to support mouth care training for caregivers.

 © 2019 University of Manitoba.

This online educational resource on seniors' oral heath is intended to support professional caregivers and health care providers with learning about oral health care delivery to residents in long-term care.  The course uses audio narration and video clips to enhance learning and is divided into two modules: 1) Good oral health, and 2) Daily mouth care.

Created by the British Columbia Dental Association (BCDA) who has shared it with the Ontario Dental Association

This is a comprehensive collection of audits to review oral care in long term care. It contains instructions and audits on: dental equipment; Denture and denture supplies; Oral care supplies in residents’ care caddie; Oral care practices; POC/Flowsheet; Actual Resident Assessment of oral care; Admission Process; Levels of assistance and behaviours; Annual Assessment; Quarterly Assessment; Annual evaluation of oral care education; and Resident and Family Information.

This booklet is a group of tools that long term care or other health care organizations can use to collect baseline data on the status of oral care. Tools included are: RAI-MDS indicators; audits for oral supplies and care on charts; and an oral health knowledge survey.

This is a link to a series of six videos that discusses why oral care is important and demonstrates appropriate oral care techniques for the various stages of dementia.  A DVD of these videos, Oral Hygiene for Residents with Dementia is available for purchase at the RNAO Online Store: https://shop.rnao.ca/node/113.

This document is a sample policy and procedure on oral care. The policy was created by the RNAO Long-Term Care Best Practices Program Oral Care Toolkit Team to support LTC Homes.

The OHAT, also known as the Modified Brief Oral Health Status Examination provides a systematic way to assess the oral cavity.  It categorizes findings into three categories – Healthy, Changes and Unhealthy.

This oral health care planning guideline provides information on a standard protective care regimen, additional oral care treatment, oral care and changed behaviour and palliative care considerations. An Oral Health Care Plan guide is included.

Source: Government of South Australia © 2012 SA Health

This fact sheet from the British Columbia Dental Association provides a succinct description on how to do an oral exam, along with clear pictures of common oral problems.  It is available in Farsi, Chinese, Tagalog, and Punjabi. There are also video resources connected to this fact sheet.

This 25-minute YouTube video is Part 1 of the RNAO Long-Term Care Best Practices Program - Oral Health Assessment Series (3 parts). It discusses available oral assessment tools and demonstrates a method for performing an oral assessment. Pictures of variations of normal findings, how to check denture fit and challenges in oral care are presented.

This 30-minute video demonstrates how to brush another persons teeth and describes interventions for various oral care problems found in residents in long term care. It is Part 3 of the RNAO Long-Term Care Best Practices Program - Oral Assessment Series (3 parts).

This document is a sample of the holistic and reliable Oral assessment tool (THROAT) oral health assessment tool.

Reference: Dickinson, H., Watkins, C. & Leathley, M. (2001). The Development of the THROAT: The Holistic and Reliable Oral Assessment Tool. Clinical Effectiveness in Nursing. 5, 106-110.

This work is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. 

The South Australia Health website provides information on a variety of clinical topics including Oral Health for Older People.  It is an in-depth toolkit aimed at improving oral care in residential care (long term care). Resources include brochures on caring for natural teeth, caring for dentures and partials, dental care for people with diabetes and oral assessment.

Source: Government of South Australia © 2012 SA Health