Elderly residents in care homes
need us!
Together, we can provide the
essential dental care that keeps
them healthy and smiling

Current Depiction
Seniors in Long term care homes (LTCH) face challenges like worn teeth, limited awareness of
oral health, reduced manual dexterity, and systemic health concerns.
Non-oral health professionals often face difficulties due to limited oral health knowledge,
differing scopes of practice, and not enough time to conduct proper assessments.
These gaps impact the quality of oral care for seniors, showing the need for oral health care
professional support.
Dental hygienists (DHs) are skilled at providing standardized oral assessments, preventive care
plans, and providing personalized treatments.
There is an urgent need to incorporate interprofessional collaboration between DHs and care
aides/nurses

How can a Dental Hygienist make a
difference here ?
Answer

Advocacy

Join Canadian Dental Hygienists Association
(CDHA) committee
Join CDHA to access more more learning, connections, support, public recognition, and savings.
Share concerns & suggest changes to make oral health care mandatory in long-term care
homes by joining CDHA at:
https://www.cdha.ca/cdha/Membership_folder/Join_or_Renew_Today_folder/Join_Now_folder/
CDHA/Membership/Join.aspx#/join/STU/memberInfo

Engage with Social Media
Use #oralhealthforseniors, and tag local MPs
Engage with @theCDHA to spread awareness

Conduct polls for awareness
Conduct/Participate in surveys/polls

Use CDHA’s Election Toolkit
CDHA’s 2023 Parliament Hill Day highlighted this issue
CDHA’s toolkit prepare DH for meetings with federal candidates
CDHA engages in advocacy through letters, submissions, and meetings with decisionmakers to present policy recommendations.
The association participates in consultations, collaborates with key stakeholders, and
builds strategic partnerships within the broader health system.
CDHA monitors political changes to evaluate their impact on dental hygiene and shares
tools and resources to support collective member advocacy.

CDHA is Making a Difference

CDHA successfully advocated for the inclusion of oral health assessments in the evaluation of residents'
overall physical health, a recommendation accepted by Health Standards Organization (HSO).
CDHA will keep advocating for seniors by supporting the recommendations in the standard. It will also
emphasize the important role dental hygienists have in improving the quality of life in long-term care homes.
Explore this link to see the difference CDHA is making:

https://files.cdha.ca/NewsEvents/tag/2023/HSO_Long-Term_Care_Services_Standard.pdf

Prepared by VCC Dental Hygiene:
Amanda Lage Barcelos Nunes, Jean Hsueh, Simran Kaur,
Tom Peter Thermadam, Vijaypal Brar
November 2024

References:
Home: Oral care for seniors [Internet]. [cited 2024 Sept 30]. Available from: https://www.supportseniorsoralhealth.ca/
Highlights from CDHA’s 2023 Parliament Hill Day and kick-off to National Dental Hygienists Week [Internet]. [cited 2024 Sept 30]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/2sjt7nx51.
Get involved [Internet]. [cited 2024 Sept 30]. Available from: https://www.supportseniorsoralhealth.ca/social-media
What dental hygienists are saying about national standards for long-term care and the need to address oral health [Internet]. [cited 2024 Sept 30]. Available from: https://files.cdha.ca/Profession/Policy/ltc-snapshot.pdf
Association CDH. SENIORS ORAL HEALTH IN CANADA [Internet]. [cited 2024 Sept 30]. Available from: https://www.dentalhygienecanada.ca/
The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association. National standards for long-term care: Addressing oral Health for Overall Health [Internet]. Ottawa: The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association, 2021 [cited 2024 Apr 15]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/3atwvxnk
Hoben M, Hu H, Xiong T, Kent A, Kobagi N, Yoon MN. Barriers and facilitators in providing oral health care to nursing home residents, from the perspective of care aides-A systematic review protocol. Syst Rev Subsets [Internet]. 2016 [cited 2024 Apr 14];5:53. Available from
MEDLINE with Full Text: https://tinyurl.com/5x2emkd2
The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association. National standards for long-term care: Addressing oral Health for Overall Health [Internet]. Ottawa: The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association, 2021 [cited 2024 Apr 15]. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/3atwvxnk