Dental Hygiene Neglect in Nursing Homes – Don’t Brush it Off!
With all the tasks we expect of our nursing home caregivers, it can be all too easy to neglect seemingly minor details. After all, overworked staffers are charged with feeding, bathing and dressing our elderly loved ones, in addition to administering medications and supervising activities such as walks around the grounds. Dental care may seem like no big deal.
Oral Hygiene Affects Overall Health
What many people don’t realize is that failure to care for one’s teeth and gums properly may lead to more than just the occasional cavity. A study published in The Journal of the American Dental Association links poor oral hygiene to pneumonia or respiratory tract infections, particularly in elderly people. One conclusion of the study states, “Mechanical oral hygiene practices may prevent the death of about one in 10 elderly residents of nursing homes from health-care-associated pneumonia.”
The link to oral hygiene isn’t obvious. Often, if someone dies of pneumonia or another respiratory infection, loved ones don’t necessarily make the connection between that and poor dental care. This can be especially true if the elderly patient has lost all his or her natural teeth already. Gum care and denture cleaning are just as important as polishing those pearly whites.
Signs of Dental Neglect
How can you detect dental hygiene neglect? Some signs may be obvious, while others are less so. Ensuring that your loved one visit a dentist once a year will help to detect problems you may not recognize. Here are a few simple things to look for when you visit the nursing home:
- Check your loved one’s toothbrush to ensure it looks used
- Ask the patient if he or she is having any mouth pain or unusual headaches
- Look for mouth sores or excessive redness of the gums
- Chronic or increasing halitosis (bad breath)
Patients suffering from dementia are often resistant to personal care such as oral hygiene. It’s important for caregivers to find a way to implement proper dental care without improperly restraining or abusing their charges. However, failing to care for the patient’s teeth and gums is, in itself, a form of neglectful abuse—one that can result in severe illness or even death.
If you feel that nursing home workers may have neglected to provide your loved one with proper oral care, our experienced legal team may be able to help you. If your elderly or infirm family member has suffered pain, illness, or even death while in the care of a nursing facility, contact our office for a complimentary case evaluation.