An estimated 60% of people will care for someone else at some stage which is why having the skills and confidence to provide good oral health – professionally at work or personally at home is so important.
A free online course has been developed by the University Dental Hospital of Manchester in partnership with the University of Manchester, to help equip everyone with the skills to provide good mouth care.
There are so many benefits to providing good oral hygiene – it allows people to eat, speak and socialise without discomfort or embarrassment as well as improving general health and wellbeing.
Having the ability to assess and provide good mouth care can prevent many dental problems and improve independence, nutrition, respiratory conditions, reduce infections and hospital length of stay.
Professor Martin Ashley, Consultant in Restorative Dentistry and Oral Health at MFT has led on the development of the six week e-learning course which launches on Monday 12th October.
He said: “For all of us who care for other people, either at work or at home, having the confidence to look after their mouths well is really important and they will be healthier and happier as a result. Our Mouth Care Matters course allows you to learn all about mouth care, in simple steps. This free course can be accessed anytime, is open for registration now.”
You can join the course at any time and learn at your own pace, covering a range of topics such as;
- Why good mouth care matters
- How to examine a mouth and decide what care to give
- How to clean a mouth and to care for dentures
- What equipment and products are needed
You will learn the basics of good mouth health, including; tooth decay, gum disease and explore how to assess the state of someone else’s mouth and how to clean it properly.
The course is designed for all people in the health and social care sectors, nurses, carers, speech and language therapists and for those in the domestic setting, as well as student dentists and dental hygienists.
Professor Cheryl Lenney, MFT Chief Nurse commented; “This is one of our key areas for implementation and dissemination of the evidence base in practice, for the benefit of patients, across the Trust. I would encourage staff to sign up for the e-learning programme”
For more information and to sign up to the e-learning, click here. Please share the e-learning with peers, friends or family that you think would benefit from this resource.