Services

Smiles at Home Mobile Dental Hygiene provides thorough oral hygiene services.

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 help 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 bedside if necessary.

The first appointment is spent conducting a thorough examination. This includes:

• 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 and examination for oral cancer, photography of any findings for monitoring and referral for further examination.
• Periodontal  (gum disease) screening.
• Dental assessment within dental hygiene scope, including presence or absence of teeth or fragments, exposure of roots from recession, 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 to 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 condition, ability to keep the mouth clean regularly without assistance, and 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.

People in long-term care often have general health issues that make oral hygiene more important:

• Links have been established between uncontrolled gum disease and the progress of heart disease.
• With osteoporosis, the bone loss of gum disease progresses faster, so it’s more important to work to preserve the existing teeth.
• People with lung diseases and reduced immune systems are at high risk for pneumonia caused by breathing in bacteria that grows on teeth.
• Poor oral health will reduce your ability to chew: this can cause poor digestion, malnutrition, bad breath and pain.

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: