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There is increasing demand for Domiciliary Oral Healthcare (DOHC) and the skills and equipment required to provide a quality, patient-centred service with careful assessment and management in a sometimes compromised situation. Commissioning of DOHC needs to be set in the context and current agenda of equality, diversity and human rights in both health and social care. Effective marketing and community engagement are required to promote awareness of how to access services amongst people confined to home and their families and carers.
Training for the whole dental team should be available in order to address the concerns and problems encountered regarding the provision of DOHC.
Clinical Relevance: Members of the dental team should be aware of the skills required for DOHC and be familiar with using effective care pathways in relation to the provision of DOHC.
Article
It is over ten years since the last article in this journal on the subject of domiciliary care.1 During that time the British Society for Disability and Oral Health's Guidelines for the Delivery of a Domiciliary Oral Healthcare Service2 have been revised and offer the following:
Domiciliary oral healthcare (DOHC) has been described as a service that reaches out to care for those who cannot reach a service themselves.1 It encompasses oral healthcare and dental treatment carried out in an environment where a patient is resident either permanently or temporarily, as opposed to that care which is delivered in dental clinics or mobile units. These environments will normally include residential units and care homes, hospitals, day centres and patients' own homes. Whilst domiciliary care includes preventive oral healthcare, it excludes dental screening procedures.
Although the majority of people who require DOHCS are older adults, the service may also be required by people of a younger age, and should not be considered as the last resort. It should be offered amongst the routine options for dental care for people who are mostly confined to home or for whom leaving or travelling from home can cause unwarranted upheaval and distress.
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