Improving Older Adult Oral Health Care Through Interprofessional Collaboration and Evidence-Based Practice

Elevated oral health risks and disparities exist for older adults in long term care (LTC) linked to poor health outcomes. Most health care team members receive limited education on oral health assessments, evidence-based care guidelines, and team-based oral health practices. Research demonstrates that oral health education can effectively and efficiently reduce mouth pain, improve masticatory function, minimize social isolation, and help manage systemic disease. The MOTIVATE program equips the health care team with the knowledge and skills needed to improve oral health care quality and staff confidence through evidence-based training, quality improvement coaching, and access to oral health expertise. MOTIVATE’s success in LTC demonstrates that staff training is feasible, accepted by residents and families and is sustainable. This interprofessional session will provide background and context, an overview of the applied MOTIVATE model, program impact and strategies that teams can implement to improve oral health in LTC will also be discussed.