Improving Social Care practice in integrating mouth and teeth care in personal care for people living with dementia

Many people living with dementia are able to look after themselves but as dementia progresses, their family and/or home care workers are likely to help with personal care. This might include reminding the person to clean their teeth or take care of any dentures. If people living with dementia cannot care for their teeth or mouth, they may be in pain, have problems eating, and need treatments.

For people living with dementia who get home care support, a care plan will be developed to outline the type of personal care they need. For many people, this will follow an assessment from the local council and probably one by a manager or supervisor working for a home care company. However, it is not known if assessments and care plans include mouth or dental care and, if they do, it is not known what they say.

Objectives
This study aimed to explore ways of improving social care practice in integrating mouth and dental care into personal care for people living with dementia at home by examining how this is supported in individual assessments and care plans.

Methods
This cross-sectional exploratory study had three concurrent work packages:

1. Exploring individual assessments and care plans of people living with dementia to understand how mouth/dental care is addressed

2. Exploring the views of people living with dementia and their family carers, social care professionals and home care professionals on assessments and care plans relating to 3. mouth and dental care through interviews

3. Co-producing an accessible output and a report of the findings for local councils and home care providers about assessments and care plans.