News & Updates
Resources
for Providing Care
to Older Adults
jcda
ca
ESSENTIAL DENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Published by
R
The Canadian Dental Association
esearchers and community partners, led by a team from Dalhousie University,
have developed new resources to promote optimal oral care in long-term
care (LTC) and home care settings. The Brushing Up on Mouth Care project
DES CONNAISSANCES
DENTAIRES INDISPENSABLES
resources can be used to educate staff working in continuing care settings.
jadc
Publié par
l’Association dentaire canadienne
• The project’s educational resources and materials are now available in French.
These resources are for staff in LTC settings and include care cards, tool kits,
posters and information sheets on brushing, flossing and common oral
conditions.
• The Facilitator Guide provides an education plan and teaching tools for 3 target
audiences: LTC facilities, home support agencies and continuing care assistant education programs. There are PowerPoint slides and speaking notes for
4 sessions related to LTC and home care settings: assessment and care planning,
brushing techniques and oral health products, considerations for dementia and
palliative care, and a session tailored to either LTC or home care settings.
• A recording of the webinar, “Bringing Optimal Oral Care to Your Workplace,”
provides an overview of the Facilitator Guide. It covers topics such as proper
brushing, flossing, and rinsing techniques, and how to manage challenging
behaviours.
• Guiding principles for LTC and home care were established to provide clear
expectations for the recipients of care and define staff roles and responsibilities
in delivering mouth care. a
Cite this as: J Can Dent Assoc 2013;79:d133
Visit the Brushing Up on Mouth Care website at ahprc.dal.ca/projects/oral-care/default.asp
to access these resources and find out more about the project.
Tools to Reduce the Impact of Drug Shortages
The federal and Alberta ministers of health announced new tools to reduce
the impact of drug shortages, which can affect the supply of local and
general anesthetics, sedatives, antibiotics and other emergency drugs.
D
rug shortages remain a significant problem in the Canadian health care
system and have been highlighted by CDA as an emerging issue affecting
care of dental patients.
The health ministers announced a protocol and tool kit to better coordinate
information about drug shortages:
• A national protocol sets expectations for the early notification and
Visit drugshortages.ca
communication of information related to a drug shortage. Drug
Read the national protocol, access the tool kit and
manufacturers voluntarily report anticipated or actual drug shortages sign up for automatic alerts about drug shortages.
on www.drugshortages.ca. The website provides health care professionals and patients with details about each drug shortage, including
alternatives that could be used and an estimated resupply date.
• A tool kit identifies strategies and tools for addressing drug shortages at specific stages of the supply chain—drug approvals,
manufacturing, procurement and distribution, and front line delivery.
“Oral care facilities are especially hard-hit when there is a drug shortage because drugs are preferentially allocated to primary
care institutions,” explains Kevin Desjardins, CDA director of public affairs. “Unfortunately, this essentially leaves dental offices
and other ‘out of hospital venues’ cut off from critical supplies.” a
Cite this as: J Can Dent Assoc 2013;79:d160
jcda
ca | 2014 | Vol. 80, No. 1 |
ESSENTIAL DENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Published by
The Canadian Dental Association
jcdaf
ca
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