Oral Health for the Older Adult Living in the Community

• Download All Files for This Teaching Strategy

  • Printer friendly version of this teaching strategy
  • Oral Health Older Person Interview Guide
  • Oral Health Community Assessment Guide

• Learning Objectives

  Students will:

  • Assess oral health needs of older adults living independently in the community.
  • Determine barriers for older adults to obtain oral health care in the community 
  • Describe the role of the nurse when providing oral health care to older adults in the community.

• Learner Pre-Work

  This teaching strategy incorporates the ACE.S Essential Nursing Actions: Assess Function and Expectations, Coordinate and Manage Care and Make Situational Decisions. This teaching strategy enhances the students’ NLN Education Competencies of Nursing Judgment, Human Flourishing, Professional Identity, and Spirit of Inquiry.

  Have students read the following prior to implementing this teaching strategy:
  DeLong, L. (2013). Age-related mouth changes. Retrieved from http://www.toothwisdom.org/resources/entry/age-related-mouth-changes.

  Ask the students to write a log or summary of potential health related risk factors which result from changes in food taste with older adults.

  Visit Tooth Wisdom Health Resources for Older Adults http://www.toothwisdom.org/

• Suggested Learning Activities

  Interviewing Older Adult in the Community

  For this teaching strategy, students will interview an older adult in the community to determine the individual’s oral health needs. Students will assess the community in which older adult live to determine oral health resources available.
  
  

  Community Interview

  Faculty will provide students with the Oral Health Older Person Interview Guide and the Oral Health Community Assessment Guide.

• Suggested Reading

  Hunt, R. (2012). Health promotion and disease and injury prevention for older adults. Introduction to Community-Based Nursing. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Aging Publications 
  The above link provides information and statistics regarding chronic disease and wellbeing of older adults.
  
  Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being (Older Americans 2010) provides a comprehensive picture of our older population’s health and well-being. It is the fifth chartbook prepared by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics (Forum).

  ConsultGeri.org, the website of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University's College of Nursing, contains many evidence-based assessment tools. Those listed below from the Try This: and How to Try This series are particularly recommended for the content on geriatric syndromes. The tool, an article about using the tool, and a video illustrating the use of the tool, are all available for your use. The SPICES tool is listed first, since it is an overall assessment tool.

• Author Information

  Erin Hartnett, DNP, APRN-BC, CPNP

  NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing

  New York, NY