Elderly do not know of home dental care scheme

Home dental care is offered to the elderly and severely disabled, who find it difficult even to report a dental visit. But several hundred elderly people in Aalborg Municipality miss the offer dental care at home because they do not know about the scheme, writes TV2/Nord.

Equipped with a small suitcase dentists dentist can solve most tasks at home, which protects the elderly and severely disabled patients to a troublesome trip out of the home. But according to Aalborg Municipality dentistry is a paucity of making use of the opportunity to get the dentist to give the teeth a check in their own homes.

"We suspect that we could have almost twice as many users in the system, if everyone who is eligible, took the offer," says dentist Birgit Krabsen from dentistry in Aalborg Municipality.

Care Centers can also avail of the scheme so that staff in care centers can concentrate on providing care, rather than having to devote time to accompany the residents individually to the dentist.

Caring Dentistry

Caring Dentistry is a municipal organization, where the municipalities are obliged by law to offer preventive and curative dental care for adults who because of their health are difficult to make use of the general established dentistry offers. Municipalities may charge a fee for the scheme, and in 2009 this charge about 400 dollars annually, depending on what rate each municipality has chosen to use.

Eligibility for dental care
Caring Dentistry are for people over 18 years, because of chronically impaired mobility or excessive physical or mental disabilities will have difficulty using the established dental care system.

The primary audience for caring dentistry is originally defined as persons who either live in nursing homes or assisted living / senior housing or the like with a lot of remedial measures, if self-reliant capacity and self-care is so limited that they need assistance in basic daily functions or any care, and can actually be equated with nursing home residents.

Today, the audience also of the mentally retarded and mentally ill patients in whom there is no specific dental problems that require dental professional specialized in special dental care, but the person is not sufficiently on its own is able to use existing dentistry offers from practicing dentistry .

It is not envisaged that a broader group of frail elderly or disabled people who would otherwise be admissible at common disability friendly dental clinics to be covered by dental care offer. Caring Dentistry is not directed against individuals, which in principle can use existing dentistry offers, but who for social or other reasons, have opted out of this. Most of omsorgstandplejens persons already living in senior housing / nursing home and receives a retirement pension.

The level of dental care offer
Caring Dentistry addressing prevention, investigation, planning and treatment.

The prevention includes all activities aimed at preventing the disease symptoms and conditions of the teeth, mouth and jaws from occurring, including information for both the patient as care staff about the importance of a healthy, functional teeth, mouth and jaw region.

Studies of dental, oral and maxillofacial region occur at intervals guided by academic reasons.

Necessary treatments include treating symptoms, diseases and dysfunctions of the teeth, mouth and jaws, including the necessary tandprotetiske treatments.

How to get dental care
You have searched for dental care. If you live in nursing homes, it works through the staff. If you live in your own home, you contact the home or your community center.

Options within care dentistry
Municipalities can offer dental care both at public clinics and private dental practice / clinical dental technician practice. And the user can choose between dental care offer by a local clinic or whether it should be in private, regardless of whether the municipality basically offer care at a public clinic. If you wish to qualify for the scheme not to receive this offer, you remain in the right grants for dental care under the current rules.

Users of the dental care system has three options: to receive dental care by a) public clinic, b) in private practice or c) to deselect an offer dental care, whereby the right of the general dentistry offers from practicing dentistry preserved.

It is noted however that one can not use dental care in other municipalities than the municipality.

Economy
The local council of each municipality decides on dental care should be free of charge to recipients, or whether there should be liable to pay for the scheme. User charge for dental care is regulated by law, and in 2006 was a maximum of 400 per annum.

Commencement of particularly expensive treatments can only happen when the municipality has approved the launch of the dentist or clinical dental technician tenders submitted. The local council may provide the services to be covered by the municipality's prior approval.

Caring Dentistry in your community
Information on how the offer of dental care is in your municipality can always be found at local hjemmmeside. The easiest way to your local authority website is through regional websites, which contained an overview of the www.regioner.dk

Older does not use dental care

Meanwhile, senior citizens in some of the municipalities do not get offered the statutory dental care , other municipalities regret over the lack of support for the scheme.

Instead of spending time on transportation and waiting at the dentist, the elderly and disabled in many cases receive both studies forebyggele injuries and treatment of teeth and dentures sitting at home in their armchair, if they avail themselves of the offer of dental care.

Caring Dentistry
For about 400 per year, citizens who are eligible for the offer, receive preventive and curative dental care in a safe environment at their home. Dental care is offered to all citizens whose self-reliant capacity is so limited that they can effectively equated with nursing home residents, and thereby have a hard time getting to a dentist. And according to dentist Birgit Krabsen from Aalborg Municipality dental care, the scheme for dental care in the home also be helpful to staff in the older centers in the country's municipalities, which could avoid spending time and effort to follow the residents to private dentists to obtain the necessary dentistry.

However, it is not envisaged that a broader group of frail elderly or disabled people who can be treated on ordinary disability friendly dental clinics to be covered by dental care offer. Most of omsorgstandplejens persons already living in senior housing / care homes and also receives a retirement pension.

The originally defined target group of caring dental care was defined as persons living in nursing homes and people who live in their own homes / senior housing or the like with a lot of relief measures, and if self-care is so limited that they can effectively be treated with care home residents.

Read more about dental care

Only half advantage of the offer
In Aalborg there are apparently many who are not familiar with the system of dental care. Almost 900 people take advantage of the offer of dental care so they can get help to care for their teeth and dentures at home. But in Aalborg Municipality suppose Mon to about twice as many elderly and disabled citizens are eligible to offer dental care at home, and now the municipality will try to get nurses to become better informed about the scheme.

Elderly do not get the dental care they are entitled

A study DaneAge have made ​​shows that tandløshed is one of the non-life-threatening diseases that the senior citizens fear most.

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that the elderly will have healthy teeth. That they have a desire to chew their food. That they will be free from toothache. And they have a desire to smile to the world without being ashamed of your teeth.

In Denmark it is the municipal dental care to ensure dental care for the elderly who are unable to use regular dental care. According to the Board of Health receives 30-35000 citizens dental care.

Large differences from municipality to municipality

Susanne Andersen, Chairman of the Dental Association

According to Christian Dagblad Dental Association has taken the matter up, and has applied for a so-called adjustment pool funds for a project to ensure a uniform offer dental care across the country. The reason is that there are very large differences in the ability to get dental care from municipality to municipality. Susanne Andersen, President of the Dental Association, says that senior citizens should be able to trust that they are offered dental care if they fall within the criteria laid down in legislation.