Research
was 26.64. Female participants had equivalent mean scores (26.79) to male participants (26.58).
Conclusions and recommendations • The findings of the survey showed that the oral health condi- tions of the Lanarkshire sample were poor, pointing to a clear need for NHS Lanarkshire to provide a comprehensive dental service for homeless people, comprising emergency dental service, ad hoc treatments and routine dental care. • Emergency dental services: many homeless people find it difficult to access and afford dental care, necessitating the need to provide emergency services for those unable to take advantage of routine dental care. • Ad hoc or one-off ‘occasional’ single-item treatments that can be accessed without the need to attend for a full course of treatment: those who occasion- ally long-term prioritise may be more likely to attend a one-off
appointment for single item treatment, suggesting the need for ‘occasional treat- ments’ for homeless people, where a course of treat- ment or further attendance requirements are not imposed on the patient. • Routine dental care/full course of treatment: home- less people who are able to maintain a phase of long- term prioritising have a much greater likelihood of successfully completing a full course of dental treat- ment and/or adopting a preventive oral hygiene routine. • There is a need to identify those homeless people wishing to access emergency dental services, those who require one-off treatments, and those wishing access to routine care. • It is also recommended that NHS Lanarkshire should take a multi-agency approach to enhance oral health promotion for homeless people.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Albert Yeung is a
consultant in dental public health at NHS Lanarkshire.
albert.yeung@lanarkshire.
scot.nhs.uk Emma Coles is a research fellow at the Dental Health Services Research Unit, University of Dundee.
e.coles@
dundee.ac.uk Anne Moore is the deputy director of salaried primary care dental services at NHS Lanarkshire.
anne.moore@lanarkshire.
scot.nhs.uk Celia Watt is a senior health promotion officer (oral health) at NHS Lanarkshire. celia.watt@lanarkshire.
scot.nhs.uk Ruth Freeman is the director of Oral Health and Health Research Programme and professor of dental public health research at the Dental Health Services Research Unit, University of Dundee.
r.e.freeman@
dundee.ac.uk
Scottish Dental magazine 51
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