[The guideline Oral Health Care for dependent residents in long term care facilities, 2007: dire necessity!]

The oral health status of residents in Dutch nursing homes is rather poor, especially of those depending on caregivers for their oral health care. Moreover, when care dependency is rising, the provision of good oral health care becomes more difficult. With more elderly people still having (parts of) their natural teeth, the need for good oral health care is increasing even more. Therefore a specific guideline was developed. The ultimate aim of the guideline "Oral health care for dependent residents in long term care facilities" is to improve the oral health of nursing home residents. Oral health care needs to be incorporated in daily nursing home care routine and in the integral care plan of every resident. Attention is given to the importance of an adequate implementation of this guideline as well as to the necessity of research evaluating the effects of it's implementation.