Provision of mouth-care in long-term care facilities: an educational trial

– Objectives: This randomized clinical trial aimed to assess the effectiveness of a pyramid‐based education for improving the oral health of elders in long‐term care (LTC) facilities. Methods: Fourteen facilities matched for size were assigned randomly to an active or control group. At baseline in each facility, care‐aides in the active group participated with a full‐time nurse educator in a seminar about oral health care, and had unlimited access to the educator for oral health‐related advice throughout the 3‐month trial. Care‐aides in the control group participated in a similar seminar with a dental hygienist but they received no additional advice. The residents in the facilities at baseline and after 3 months were examined clinically to measure their oral hygiene, gingival health, masticatory potential, Body Mass Index and Malnutrition Indicator Score, and asked to report on chewing difficulties. Results: Clinical measures after 3 months were not significantly different from baseline in either group, indicating that education neither influenced the oral health nor the dental hygiene of the residents. Conclusions: A pyramid‐based educational scheme with nurses and care‐aides did not improve the oral health of frail elders in this urban sample of LTC facilities.