Care homes overlook oral health

Over half of care homes (52%) in the UK have no policy to promote and protect the oral health of their residents, a shocking new report from the Care Quality Commission has revealed. The report also shows that almost half of care homes don’t train staff on how to care for patients’ oral health day to day and only a quarter of homes include oral health in routine care plan reviews. Given the implications of poor oral health on other conditions such as dementia and vascular disease, the report’s findings are of major concern and have led to calls for widespread reform.

Read the full report https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/major-report/smiling-matters-oral-health-care-care-homes