Clinical considerations of patients before entering a nursing home

Presented by Dr Warren Shnider

An elderly and frail patient entering a nursing home represents a significant change in life, with potential implications for their oral health and future access to care. If presented with a last opportunity to see your loyal and longstanding elderly patient at your surgery, what would you do?

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify issues with chronic medical diseases
• Manage cognitive decline
• Set realistic treatment goals
• Establish an oral maintenance program.

Drug Issues in the elderly

Presented by Dr Tami Yap

This session is a discussion of the impact of medications in the oral cavity of an ageing population.

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:

• ÜÜAppreciate the chronicity of medication use in the elderly
• ÜÜRecognise that risk for oral cavity pathology can be modified by chronic medication use
• ÜÜRecognise the important role of clinicians in dentistry to assist in the medical health of their patients from a position of longitudinal care.

Dry mouth

Presented by Dr Marg Stacy

Dry mouth is a common condition in the elderly that can markedly affect both oral health and quality of life. Many products chosen for relief of dry mouth symptoms can exacerbate oral health problems. This presentation will cover identification and assessment of dry mouth, and management using 'tooth-friendly' methods.

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify patients with dry mouth
• Appreciate the impact that dry mouth may have on quality of life
• Identify oral disease risk factors and habits that may arise as a result of dry mouth
• Develop strategies to manage patients with dry mouth.