Smiles at Home Mobile Dental Hygiene provides professional, mobile oral hygiene services designed specifically for residents of care facilities.
The New Client Experience: Your First Appointment
Spending time with each new client is important because everyone has unique needs.. Identifying your concerns, fears, past bad experiences, complications from medications, health problems and specific preferences helps the hygienist to deliver treatment that best suits your needs. The goal is to provide you with the best possible dental hygiene care the facility where you live, in our mobile clinic or at your bedside if necessary.
What We Do During Your First Appointment
- Evaluation of dental and medical history.
- A complete head & neck and oral tissue exam, including skin, lips, cheeks, tongue, salivary glands, external palpation of facial bones, plus an examination for oral cancer, photography of any findings for monitoring and referral for further examination.
- Periodontal (gum disease) screening.
- Dental assessment within the dental hygiene scope, including the presence or absence of teeth or fragments, exposure of roots from recession, and reported symptoms of pain or sensitivity.
- Denture cleaning and documentation of type and state of repair.
- Thorough cleaning and polishing of your teeth (This may be done at a subsequent appointment, if approval from a guardian is required for informed consent.)
- Individualized home care instructions for you (and your care aid if relevant), to help you maintain the best possible oral health.
- Consultation concerning the present condition of your teeth and gums.
- Referral to a local dentist or denturist for any dental needs beyond our ability.
- A recommendation regarding how often you should receive dental hygiene treatment. Mouth-care maintenance needs change throughout our lives, and these are individually based on current general and oral health conditions, ability to keep the mouth clean regularly without assistance, and the help and tools available.
Why is dental hygiene important for someone living in residential care?
Preventive care is clearly a good strategy for averting serious oral health problems. Many patients, especially the elderly, are not aware of the problems in their mouths. Gum disease, tooth decay and abscesses often exist undetected and can lower total body resistance to disease. Regular examination by people trained in oral health will help detect problems as early as possible. This is especially important for people with dementia who can’t always let us know when there is a problem.
Oral Health & General Health Connections
- Heart disease – inflammation from gum disease affects circulation
- Osteoporosis – bone loss impacts tooth support
- Lung disease / weak immunity – bacteria in the mouth can be inhaled, leading to pneumonia
- Malnutrition – difficulty chewing affects digestion and appetite
Denture Care in Residential Care
Your dentures were customized to your mouth’s shape when they were made, but bone changes over time, especially with osteoporosis. Regular visits to adjust a denture will not only maximize your comfort, but also prolong the life of the existing dentures. The longer they fit, the more work you can get out of them before they need to be replaced.
Smiles at Home staff label and assess dentures for optimal fit when completing their first evaluation of your dentures. Labels are important for people who have memory loss, and do not affect the fit or appearance of the dentures. Dentures are cleaned sonically to remove tartar and stains not removed by daily cleanings. We also monitor and evaluate the mouth under the dentures, to make sure we detect and refer for treatment any lumps, bumps or sores before their treatment becomes complicated.
Smiles at Home has relationships with mobile denturists throughout Victoria who are happy to provide excellent quality work at a reasonable cost on-site at all of the facilities where we provide care.
Daily care recommendations:
- Rinse all dentures after every meal.
- Clean dentures at least once per day with a denture brush or toothbrush and water. Denture cleaning pastes are safe, but regular toothpaste can scratch the acrylic of a denture and should be avoided.
- With dentures removed, use a soft toothbrush to brush your gums and existing natural teeth. Also, brush your tongue gently.
- If possible, floss between any remaining teeth at least once per day.
- Dentures normally should not be worn at night. Dentures should be left out to dry when not worn, except when soaking with denture cleaning tablets. Denture soak tablets are effective and safe, and they help care staff in assisting with evening care.
- See your denturist and hygienist yearly for oral examinations and professional denture cleaning.