Residents must receive the care they require and deserve, whether they live in a retirement community or are receiving alternative care services. There is room for improvement at every level of care where services are provided to address particular needs. One such issue that has to be addressed is dental hygiene. Here’s how assisted living care in Dallas, TX helps residents maintain good oral hygiene and dental health.
Why is Dental Health Extremely Important?
We are all aware of the significance of dental health in our daily life. The majority of us visit the dentist roughly once a year and brush and floss twice a day. Many people also spend more money on their dental care, including braces and oral operations like wisdom tooth extraction and many other services.
As an individual ages, dental care not only remains necessary but also becomes more crucial. For starters, a lot of residents use medications that might carry side effects which cause hyper- or hyposalivation, and other periodontal diseases which have an impact on dental health.
Care also plays a role. As someone ages and live in retirement communities, they are no longer able to schedule their dental visits. It will be difficult for many of these residents to maintain their usual oral hygiene routines of brushing, flossing, and mouth washing.
Knowing the significance of dental health, it is important to consider about how retirement community residents might be assisted in maintaining their oral health.
Aid them in Maintaining their Routines
Helping residents maintain their oral hygiene practices is the most essential thing that can be done for them. Additionally, long-term care institutions that receive Medicare or Medicaid payments are required by law to assist with daily oral hygiene care; failing to do so places the retirement community below the required standard.
This would not be hard to accomplish either. Many individuals in retirement communities require assistance with daily activities including eating, taking their medications, showering, and using the restroom.
Therefore, it is only logical that dental hygiene would be included in the list of tasks that residents are encouraged to practice and assisted with as necessary. Furthermore, assisted living care would provide the necessities such as toothbrushes and toothpaste for example.
One important thing to note is that those who work in retirement communities should be trained on how to look after the dental health of the residents. So rest assured, your loved ones and your dental health routines will be taken care of.
Dentist Visits
Although the routine oral care that team members at retirement communities offer is important, there is a bigger concern. For example, if a resident never saw a professional dentist even though they may brush their teeth twice a day, they will still end up developing dental issues.
Therefore, it is crucial that residents have access to dental care. Residents in retirement communities should gain access to dental visits whenever they need them and will even be brought there with a dedicated, complimentary transportation service.
