As primary health care providers with expertise in oral health promotion and disease prevention, dental hygienists play a key role in providing baseline and ongoing oral assessments for seniors, developing individualized daily oral care plans and making appropriate referrals when indicated. They can also play an important part in the promotion of oral health within a long-term or residential care setting by providing education to those supporting seniors. This inventory of high-quality Canadian resources has been assembled in consultation with CDHA’s Independent Dental Hygiene Practice Advisory Committee (IDHPAC) , composed of independent practice members from across Canada. It is intended as a guide only. It is the responsibility of the dental hygienist to confirm all regulations and requirements with their regulatory authority.
Dental Hygienists in the Role of Knowledge Broker: Health Promotion and Education to
Caregivers
Staff of long-term care facilities, dental hygienists, and other oral health
care providers
ideally work
collaboratively
to develop constructive relationships and processes to advocate for and
enable the provision of
appropriate
care for the oral health needs of the residents. The following resources
have been selected to
support
dental
hygienists while working in this capacity.
Long-Term Care Brochure
Developed by CDHA, this customizable brochure provides information that can be used
to promote the
importance
of good
oral health and professional oral health care at every stage of life. The
brochure can be used to
educate
administrators, caregivers, and residents in long-term care.
CDHA members can download the brochure and customize it with their
logo and business
information.
Please download the brochure to your desktop and open with Acrobat Reader to
complete
customization.
Professional Development Resources for the Dental Hygienist
As regulated health professionals, dental hygienists maintain competence
through a commitment to
lifelong learning.
The following section highlights professional development resources,
vetted by CDHA’s
independent
practice
advisory committee, which support dental hygienists in their pursuit of
knowledge.
McMaster University: Regional Geriatric Program central
The Regional Geriatric Program central (RGPc) at McMaster University has developed
resources to
assist dental
hygienists
in implementing and facilitating oral hygiene care programs in long-term,
residential or home care
settings.
For more information, search Oral Health:
www.rgpc.ca/resources/
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario: Nursing Best Practice Guideline on Oral
Health
Published by the RNAO, this resource contains best practice guidelines for nursing
practitioners
working with
vulnerable
adults requiring assistance with their oral hygiene care. This resource can be
referenced by dental
hygienists
while in a role of facilitator, when implementing and promoting clinical
standards and best practice
guidelines
in long-term care facilities or directly with point-of-care personnel.
For more information:
rnao.ca/sites/rnao-ca/files/Oral_Health_-_Nursing_Assessment_and_Interventions.pdf
University of Manitoba: Centre for Community Oral Health
The University of Manitoba’s Health Promotion Unit (HPU) has developed a variety of short didactic video clips to demonstrate how to provide mouth care for dependent adults in the Mouthcare resources for caregivers section. Using the video clips, dental hygienists can improve their skills in effectively providing mouth care, and share this information with other point-of-care providers and family caregivers. Resource sheets are also available.
For more information:
umanitoba.ca/dentistry/community-and-partners/centre-community-oral-health
Advanced Gerontological Education: Gentle Persuasive Approaches
Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA®) is an innovative dementia care
education curriculum
based on a
person-centered
care approach. One of the only evidence-based curricula available in Canada, GPA
is delivered by
certified
coaches
who guide participants in using emotional, environmental, and interpersonal
communication strategies
to
recognize,
prevent, and defuse responsive behaviours. GPA Basics Education also includes
respectful
self-protective and
gentle redirection techniques for use in situations of risk to the provider.
Designed for
interdisciplinary
point-of-care
staff across health care sectors, GPA Basics Education consists of four modules
presented over a
7.5-hour
day.
It is available across Canada, and is a prerequisite for the Geriatric
Certificate Program at
McMaster
University.
For more information:
www.ageinc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/GPA_FACT-SHEET_3RD-EDITION.pdf
How to apply:
www.ageinc.ca/gpaadp/access-gpa/
McMaster University: Geriatric Certificate Program
The Geriatric Certificate Program (GCP) offered by McMaster University
consists of
educational
programming
that is aimed at improving quality of care for our aging population. Under the
Regulated Health
Professional
Stream, the GCP certificate consists of 5 required courses and 2 elective
courses that must be taken
over a
3-year
period in order to fulfill the certificate program requirements. GCP offers a
McMaster University
Certificate
of Continuing Health Sciences Education upon successful completion of the
program.
For more information:
www.geriatriccp.ca
How to apply:
www.geriatriccp.ca/streams