Student project aimed at improving oral health in long term care featured in ‘Access Magazine’

Access Magazine, a publication from the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) published an article written by Assistant Clinical Professor Courtney Vannah, M.P.H., M.S., IPDH. Vannah, who teaches in the University of New England Department of Dental Hygiene, wrote about an interprofessional student project aimed at improving the quality of oral health care in long-term settings.

The project was led by Dental Hygiene student Regina Arey and included occupational therapy and pharmacy students. According to Vannah, Arey was inspired by her uncle’s experience in an Alzheimer’s care unit in a long-term facility. “While she felt he received compassionate care from the nursing staff, she noticed a lack of attention to his oral health,” Vannah wrote. “As she became passionate about geriatric oral health and began to research, she found that his was not the only facility in which oral health care could stand to be improved.”

The interprofessional approach to the project allowed the students to tackle multiple facets of oral health improvement. Pharmacy students provided knowledge about common medications for older adults, and identified those that cause dry mouth and other oral health complications. Occupational Therapy students offered suggestions for ways to accommodate a variety of geriatric conditions, including toothbrush modifications for arthritis, sink modifications and daily reminders to brush.

The students developed a presentation that could be given to nurses working in long-term care facilities. According to Arey, the nurses were more receptive to the information because the presentations were delivered by a team of health professionals with varying expertise. “By providing education to staff that has been developed and delivered by a team that shows a broad cross section of health professions who are typically involved in the daily care of people experiencing Alzheimer’s, I believe we can have a positive impact on the overall health of geriatric patients living in long-term care facilities.”