Saving senior smiles

Abstract

Purpose: Saving Senior Smiles is to educate caregivers and nursing staff on the benefits of oral health for the older adult population. The project Saving Senior Smiles (SSS) is to assist in meeting the Healthy People 2030 Objectives which are to inform caregivers of the importance of proper oral care for their residents, teach them oral care personalized for each resident, and inform them about the correlation between oral health and systemic health. Methods: This project was conducted to target the elderly adult population of an assisted living facility located in Wichita, Kansas. A scholarly article search was performed through PubMed. The search found statistical data from the National Center of Assisted Living concerning age, gender, and socioeconomic status for this population. The method of delivery included PowerPoint presentation delivered via zoom. This presentation included a pre/posttest in order to measure the level of increased knowledge of the nursing staff relating to oral health practices. Results: The nursing staff had increased knowledge regarding personalizing care for each resident and the importance of oral health on systemic health. Implications: Further suggestions for study would include revisiting Agape in six months to assess the resident’s oral health as well as investigating staff's knowledge and implementation of daily oral health to their residents. Additional Materials: Pie charts used to represent the demographics of SSS target population.