Please note this webinar has now been CANCELLED. You can still register as we hope to rearrange it in the new year. We will email everyone who has registered to let them know of the new date.

What is this webinar about?

Adults in care homes may need support to ensure that they have healthy mouths that enable them to eat, sleep and communicate without pain or embarrassment, but a recent CQC review found that oral health care is often not considered a priority in care homes .

The introduction to Smiling matters: oral health in care homes states that:

“…too many people living in care homes are not being supported to maintain and improve their oral health. Three years on from the publication of the NICE guideline (NG48), oral health in care homes is still not a priority and people are not always able to access the dental care they need.”

The review looked at why some care homes find it difficult to ensure regular dental hygiene and treatment for the people they care for and identified a number of barriers to good oral health care. It also contains some recommendations for actions that will improve care, including implementing NICE guidance in care homes.

NICE produce evidence-based guidance, advice and quality standards supporting best practice in health and social care. The following are relevant to this topic:

• Guideline: Oral health in care homes (NG48)

• Quality standard: Oral health in care homes (QS151)

• Quick guide: Improving oral health for adults in care homes

The webinar offers an opportunity to find out more about using the guidance to improve the quality of life of people living in care homes by ensuring they have good oral health.

It will cover:

• Barriers to providing good oral health care to people in care homes
• Taking action to improve oral health care

• Collaborative working between commissioners and care home managers to ensure that good quality oral health care is available to all older people living in care homes (See the Quality Matters Unlocking capacity: smarter together tool for ideas on developing collaborative working)

The webinar will be led by:

• Lindsey Deignan - Care home manager, Sheffield
• Antony Hall - Head of Inspection for Primary Medical Services and Integrated in London, CQC
• Margaret Naylor – Dentist, Sheffield

Who should join the webinar?

The webinar will be of particular interest to:

• Managers of care homes for adults
• Commissioners of care for adults
• Dentists working with adults in care homes
• People who live in care homes and their families and friends

Recording

A recording of the webinar will be available on both the NICE and SCIE websites after the webinar has taken place. Please note that if you contribute written comments during the webinar, the comments (including your name) will be visible to anyone who accesses the recording.

Please email kim.rutter@scie.org.uk if you need any further information.