How it started
Last year, our team at Mind Body Teeth committed to Community Oral Health Screening and Oral Health Promotion as an integral part of our service.
We were lucky to welcome Keren Branch- our wonderful Oral Health Therapist to our team. With over 20 years experience in the dental industry Keren is professional, approachable and passionate about oral health prevention.
Our mission was simple to offer a cost-effective $99 home oral screening program for the most vulnerable of our patients seen in Special Needs Dentistry- those living in supported independent living (group homes) and residential aged care facilities (nursing homes).
Benefits to the resident
The most obvious and important advantage is that a home oral screen can pick up on oral diseases before they turn into an acute problem.
For those with social anxiety and mobility issues, presenting to a dental surgery is a big barrier to regular dental checkups. Offering an initial home visit assists in reducing these barriers. If follow up care is required, we offer a subsequent visit to the surgery.
In addition to an oral health screen, our team always takes the time to design a tailored home oral care plan for the resident and provides care staff with practical training and tips to best support the resident with their oral care.
Benefits to the centre
At-home screening makes the screening multiple residents logistically easy and cost effective for the group home or nursing home facility. There is no need to organise transport for the residents and regular staff do not need to stay offsite for long periods of time.
At each visit our team offers to hold a training session for centre staff to outline important aspects of oral care for residents with special needs.
Regular screening of residents ensures compliance with annual oral health assessment obligations.
Our partnerships
To date we have been lucky to partner with multiple prominent disability organisations. We launched our pilot initiative with Interaction Disability Services. We have also been invited to group homes under Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Northcott Disability Services and Unisson Australia.
What we routinely discover about screened patients
In keeping with the current evidence base, our team has discovered a significant burden of dental disease in our residents with special health care needs. Our data shows >75% of residents had active dental disease!
Looking ahead- An exciting way to close out 2023 and plan for the future!
As a result of our hard work, our team at Mind Body Teeth has been selected as the winner of the 2023 Mars-Wrigley Community Grant!
We are so grateful for this wonderful recognition of not only our team but of Special Needs Dentistry. This opportunity allows us to shed the spotlight on our special patients.
With the grant funding, Mind Body Teeth is excited to announce that our Home Oral Screening Program will be FREE OF CHARGE for the remainder of 2023! Please follow the link to register your home today.
We look forward to visiting your home soon.