Geriatric dentistry in nursing homes plays an important role in society. To better understand how to care for older patients, it is essential to first address why some dentists are hesitant to treat them. Caring for older patients can be complicated. The task involves understanding, patience, and careful preparation. Some dentists don’t have the capacity to treat geriatric patients in their practice and may need special accommodations. For dentists who can adjust their treatment schedule and habits and work with employees to accommodate elderly patients, there are some helpful principles to follow to ensure success.
Start with a patient assessment
When new patients sit in a dental chair in your office, you are going to review their medical history. This includes the medications they are currently using, the dental treatment they have previously undergone and the comorbidities they have. Whilst this is standard procedure for patients, geriatric patients need more consideration.
A comprehensive patient assessment can be overwhelming at first. Taking the effort and time to complete an assessment of a patient can save you and your patient a lot of energy and time. Assessing the patient’s social, psychological, behavioral and medical status enables you and your employees to better judge the kind of special accommodations and provisions that will be needed. Older patients may have impairments that affect their hearing, vision, cognitive functions, motor skills or their capability to take good care of themselves and that is where mobile dental services for nursing homes come in.
By preparing accommodations for the above challenges in advance, you can create a comfortable experience for your patients.
Accept that your standard treatment methods may not be appropriate for older patients
After assessing the patient and understanding their impairments and needs, you should begin a conversation. It is important to ask the caregiver or/and the patient what their goals are. Some patients focus on speed of delivery and function. They want to chew and speak normally as soon as they can. These types of treatment can often cash with what is best for the overall comfort of the patient.
A patient might want surgery but they are currently using medications that react with anesthetics and have trouble opening their jaw for a long period. This treatment route might not be the right route for this type of patient.
Make the layout of your practice senior-friendly
If you have a physical layout that is not friendly for older patients, you should adjust it appropriately. E.g., a patient that uses a cane or walker could trip and fall easily on an uneven rug. Low chairs and couches may pose issues to seniors who have difficulties standing up.
Remove the ageism stigma from your practice
Most dentists shy away from offering services to older patients. These barriers can stem from misconceptions that treating older people might not be productive. However, if you offer geriatric dentistry in nursing homes, you should get rid of this false belief. Although it is true that you need specialized plans for your patients these patients should be valued as human beings just like anyone else.
