RESOURCES FOR PROFESSIONALS
"Canada Releases New Oral Health Screening Tool for Seniors"
From the US Public Health Service, USPHS Chief Dental Officer Newsletter Issue #61, - The Office of the Chief Dental Officer of Canada (OCDOC), along with a team at Université Laval, has released the Canadian Oral Health Screening
Tool for Seniors, designed as plain-language, user-friendly, evidence-based, rapid screening tool for non-dental primary health care providers to assess oral tissue abnormalities and the dysfunction of dental prostheses in seniors.
Click here for Assessment Guide
Click Here for Pictures of Sample Problems
Click Here for Intervention Guide
RESOURCES FOR OLDER ADULTS
Maintaining Dental Health
Click here to access the article on page 7 in Renaissance Magazine
Authors:
Linda Knudsen, RDH, MSW and Samuel Zwetchekntbaum, DDS, MPH
Published by NJ Foundation for Aging
Looking for Oral Care in NJ?
For Low Cost Preventive Care & Referrals for Needed Dentistry, consider these dental hygiene educational programs. All students are supervised by licensed dentists and dental hygienists.
Bergen County
Bergen Community College Dental Hygiene Clinic—201.447.7180
Hudson County
Eastern International College Dental Hygiene Clinic-201.630.2080
Middlesex County
Middlesex County College Dental Hygiene Clinic-732.906.2536
Burlington County
Rowan College at Burlington Dental Hygiene Clinic-609.894.9311 x1074
Camden County
Camden County College Dental Hygiene Clinic-856.374.4930
For financial assistance with dental care, consider:
New Jersey Dental Clinic Directory 2020
The New Jersey Dental Clinic Directory is designed to assist people who have difficulty accessing dental care due to insurance or financial constraints. Many of the clinics have financial and/or residency requirements. Patients should be advised to call for an appointment and ask about required documentation regarding income or residency.
Dental Lifeline Network NJFor these donated dental services (emergency care is NOT provided), applicants must lack adequate income to pay for dental care and:• Have a permanent disability, or• Are elderly: age 65 or older, or• Qualify as medically fragile
RDH LICENSEES: REPORT ELDER ABUSE
Elder abuse can take many forms, either as abuse or neglect in the physical, psychological, or financial realms. Any of these may become apparent in a dental hygiene visit. Any licensed or certified individual is mandated to report such abuse in their professional role.
Dr. Sylvia Presto has published an article in the Winter 2015 NJ Foundation for Aging's Renaissance: "Elder Financial Abuse, A Violation of Trust"
Click here to access the magazine, and scroll to page 14
To report suspected abuse, contact NJ Adult Protective Services in the NJ Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services.
Click here for a Department of Aging flyer that provides information and contact info for most counties.
Looking for Regulations?
From University of Minnesota Manual:
Here are some helpful resources regarding Federal nursing home
oral healthcare regulations; provides Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) definitions, as well as right/responsibilities for patients and providers; includes quick reference to each state’s specific guidelines for nursing home care.
Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Long Term Care Facilities Regulations, research, access and more with Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP
LONG TERM CARE FACILITIES
Health Care Association of NJ
The Health Care Association of New Jersey (HCANJ) is a non-profit trade association representing long term care providers who believe that the individuals they serve are entitled to a supportive environment in which professional and compassionate care is delivered. This belief compels HCANJ and its members to advocate for individuals who, because of social needs, disability, trauma, or illness, require services provided in a long term care setting, while also advocating for the long term care provider community.
Other Links of Interest
Finding Continuing Care Retirement Communities
NJ Advocates for Aging Successfully
(formerly known as NJ Foundation for Aging)
NJ Office of Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly
