Research has shown that pain in care homes is often poorly identified and consequently poorly managed. Whilst there may be many potential causes of pain in the older, frail population, there has been very little work looking at the issue of dental pain. Pain could be associated with tooth decay, mouth ulcers or poorly fitting dentures. Now, in a collaboration with the University of Plymouth’s School of Nursing & Midwifery and the Peninsula Dental School we are exploring the issue of pain in care homes.
We are bringing together representatives from care homes, dentistry and health services at a virtual event on April 21st to present the findings from our recent systematic review and explore the potential for collaborative solutions to develop and investigate in future research. We are currently collaborating with colleagues in Cornell and Australia, pain and dental experts with specialties in dementia and overcoming the challenges to assessing the oral health of extremely remote populations.
Professor of Clinical Nursing Pat Schofield, whose work focuses on the management of pain particularly with older adults, said: “We’re hoping that the event will bring together brilliant minds who will collaborate to identify potential innovative solutions, including digital, to address the challenges associated with identifying and assessing dental pain in the older, frail population. In particular, we want to identify innovative ways to help those with cognitive impairment associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease residing in care homes.”
The event, which takes place virtually on 21st April 1-3pm is open to anyone with an interest in this issue.
To register your interest and obtain the meeting link, email PenARC@exeter.ac.uk