Dental and Oral Health Care in Nursing Homes: Results from Two Multi-Stakeholder Surveys

To characterize oral health practices using data from statewide, multi-stakeholder surveys.

We analyzed data from two Rhode Island surveys. Together, the surveys targeted all nursing homes, residents, and resident representatives in Rhode Island, and asked about staff training on mouth care, frequency of dental provider visits, enrollment in nursing home dental programs, and barriers to oral health. Primary Results: Responding nursing home administrators reported high levels of commitment to oral health. Among residents enrolled in a nursing home dental care program, 76.1% had a preventive visit in the prior six months, compared to 31.0% of residents not enrolled. The majority of facilities (71.8%) reported that staff received training on routine mouth care at the time of hire.

Our findings highlight opportunities to better support nursing homes in providing residents with high-quality oral health, including acquiring staff skills to manage care-resistant behaviors, and routinely assessing residents' ability to provide their own mouth care.