Dementia
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Professor June Andrews is the Director of the Dementia Services Development Centre in the Department of Applied Social Science at the
whether the person can understand the options, make a decision and communicate it with you. When providing dental treatments
“As with any patient, the dentist should explain in simple terms what is being done and
why” Prof June Andrews
it’s good to discuss them with the family or carers. There may be a person who understands them very well and knows how to communicate with them who will be vital in mak- ing sure that the person is consenting and understands what is being done and that it is beneficial for them. But remember that the person with dementia is watching and reading your non-verbal communications all the time. Use touch and tone of voice, and a calm and careful manner to keep their confidence, even if they seem not to understand everything that is said. Communication is not always
simple, but the dentist can make it easier. As with any patient, the dentist should explain in simple terms what is being done and why. The person will take more time than other people to process information and questions. One important principle is
to make sure that they know you are the dentist. A person in day clothes who comes to your house or your room in the care home and starts to try to open your mouth and shine a light in it might be very frightening, but if that person gives you a clue by wearing a dentist’s white outfit it’s a signal that he’s doing his job, and not trying to kill you. I know that avoiding uniforms is good for dental phobias, but these patients are usually older, and their expectations are based on an earlier time in their lives when the person in the white coat was an authority figure, when she said “open wide” you did just that. In May 2010 NHS Health Scotland,
in partnership with the National Older People’s Oral Health Improve- ment Group, launched the resource Caring for Smiles. It’s a guide for oral health professionals to train staff in care homes how to improve oral care for dependent older people. It was developed in response to the Scottish
Continued » Scottish Dental magazine 55
University of Stirling. She has consider- able experience in management of change in health services, having set up and directed for three years the Centre for Change and Innovation, in the Scottish Executive Health Department. The purpose of the centre was to devise and implement interventions to drive change in clinician behaviour and health care organisations in order to achieve Scotland’s targets around waiting times, access to health care and modernisation of the NHS in Scotland. In her current role she is applying these skills across sectors in the care of people with dementia, including the health, social services, private and
voluntary bodies who provide care.
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