Derbyshire’s innovative oral health programme for care homes wins national award

A pioneering Your Smile Matters initiative to enhance the oral health of residents in care homes in Derbyshire has won a national award.

The oral health promotion service for Derbyshire has created an accreditation programme for care homes to use in looking after the oral health of their residents.

The initiative was honoured as best emerging community oral health initiative in the UK, as judged at Global Health and Pharma’s annual oral health and dentistry awards.

Julie Upton, oral health improvement lead for Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, said:

"The Your Smile Matters programme provides tailored training to empower people caring for residents in care homes, equipping them with the knowledge to support and maintain the oral health of those in their care. This initiative plays a crucial role in enhancing the residents' overall quality of life. I believe we've made a holistic improvement to the well-being of the residents.”

And she added:

“By equipping staff with the necessary training and resources, we can help raise awareness and create a culture in which the oral health of care home residents is more recognised and understood.”

The oral health promotion service has been commissioned by Derbyshire County Council’s public health service since 2012, when responsibility for health improvement was allocated to local authorities.

The oral health promotion service is delivered by Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust and aims to improve, maintain, and reduce oral health inequalities within the population of Derbyshire.

With NHS England oral health improvement funding, Derbyshire’s oral health promotion team developed and piloted The Your Smile Matters oral health accreditation programme. The year long programme offers a holistic and sustainable approach to enable Derbyshire care home staff to gain the knowledge and skills to support residents with quality oral health care.

The initiative began as a pilot scheme with 17 care homes across Derbyshire working towards all the required standards to achieve accreditation.

Evidence has shown that adults living in care homes face substantial challenges regarding their oral health. In 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recognised these issues, advocating for tailored oral health care plans and improved staff training.

A subsequent assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in late 2018 further confirmed the need for improvements in staff training and awareness around oral health practices.

Derbyshire’s oral health promotion team developed the Your Smile Matters programme, which provides a structured approach to oral health care in care homes. To earn accreditation, participating facilities must meet these key standards:

• Provide oral health assessments for each resident, which are updated at regular intervals.
• Utilise evidence-based guidance to underpin good oral health practice.
• Adopt a whole care home approach to promoting and evidencing the promotion of oral health.
• Train staff to support residents with quality oral health care and signpost to the right dental service (depending on needs).

Outcomes from the pilot scheme include:

• Upskilled staff in the use of oral hygiene aids to promote independence and dignity in mouth care.
• Successful Your Smile Matters accreditation by 14 of the initial 17 care homes and will now continue to sustain the award.
• All the care homes in the pilot scheme now have a network with Derbyshire’s oral health promotion service to build on and maintain accreditation status.
• All the care homes have an oral health policy based on the latest Gov.UK Oral Health in Care Homes Toolkit.
• Handovers now include oral health issues. Mouth care is documented daily in greater detail and staff are promoting oral health using a whole setting approach.
• Staff report that they are now checking the mouth rather than just the teeth. Sequence charts have been developed and displayed in bathrooms for residents.
• Toothbrushes are changed every three months or sooner depending on wear.
• Care homes have dedicated oral health champions.
• New activities are in place to further promote oral health, including coffee mornings, newsletters and website information, plus social media posts.

The Derbyshire oral health promotion team comprises practitioners Julie Upton, Sheral Wood, Laura Hardwick and Debbie Clowes and administrator Louise Dexter. The team ensures care homes are supported to sustain their Your Smile Matters accreditation through ongoing support, training and networking events, with evidence submitted yearly for each care home to be signed off again.