Permanent NHS Dental Services for Care Home Residents to Be Implemented After Successful Pilot

A trial program offering NHS dental treatment to individuals residing in care homes is slated for permanent establishment. Over the past year, dentists from 11 practices conducted more than 4,000 sessions for patients with dementia or mobility issues across mid and south Essex. This provision allowed residents, such as 104-year-old Ivy Ritter, who lives at Silverpoint Court care home on Canvey Island, to resume eating her preferred breakfast of toast with sugar. NHS Mid and South Essex stated that the trial’s success means it will become a permanent service starting in spring 2025. Amelia Davison, a dentist involved in the pilot, noted that the majority of the work encompassed fillings, repairing broken teeth, and cleaning. The service proved vital for people like Ms Ritter, who spent six months without teeth after her dentures were lost during a hospital stay. Fellow dentist Stephen Denny observed that many of the care homes he visited housed residents who had not received oral care for five years. “With non-verbal people you can’t tell when they’re in pain, that’s the biggest problem,” he said. He added, “A lot of patients with dementia won’t really signpost they are in pain, so we’re reliant on our carers to give us that information and feedback.” Alex Kelly was recently appointed as the oral health champion at Silverpoint Court, a role that facilitates direct communication between residents and dentists. She explained: “The dentist has actually shown me things to look for – signs to look out for – because they experience pain differently with dementia. “They don’t feel pain like we would and a lot of them can’t actually express that.”” NHS Mid and South Essex indicated that the project was contributing to an improved quality of life for a demographic that had encountered additional difficulties in accessing dental care. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.