Shared Oral Care - Improving Oral Care in Institutionalized Elderly in Aalborg Municipality

Background: Nationally and internationally, more people over the age of 65 and especially an increase of people over the age of 80 enter nursing homes with natural dentition and complex prostheses and bridges than previous generations. Furthermore, there is an increased incidence of dental diseases in the elderly. This is leading to increased and different oral care needs. There is a large discrepancy between the elderly who need help with oral hygiene and the elderly who actually receive help. In order to improve the oral hygiene competencies of healthcare professionals at nursing homes, it is necessary to increase their education and improve organizational strategies. Hypothesis: The Intervention Shared Oral Care improves the elderlys bleeding and plaque index after 6 months. Study type: An intervention study. A cluster randomization of 14 nursing homes in Aalborg municipality is carried out. Outcome Measures: Change in mucosal-plaque score (MPS) index Change in Oral Related Quality of life Outcome Measure Time Frame: Change in mucosal-plaque score index measured at 0, 3 and 6 months. Change in Oral Related Quality of life measured at 0 and 6 months.