34 Say cheese – every mouth matters

<h3>Introduction</h3> Oral health is more than just good teeth, it is an integral component of palliative and end-of-life care, the aim being to promote comfort. 40% of palliative patients suffer a reduced quality of life due to oral health conditions.¹ People receiving palliative and end-of-life care are often dependant on staff for their mouth care but unfortunately at end-of-life this can often get overlooked or forgotten. A review of our own organisation identified a lack of understanding of the impact of poor oral healthcare on someone’s health and wellbeing, some poor practice, and a general reluctance to perform mouth care on patients at end of life due to dysphagia. <h3>Aim</h3> To improve staff practice, increase knowledge, and confidence to provide oral care in line with latest national guidance for people at end of life. <h3>Method</h3> Baseline audit undertaken to review existing oral healthcare. Developed and delivered a face-to-face evidenced based practice session developed in line with champion training² and to meet the recommendations from the CQC smiling matters 2019 report and subsequent 2023 recommendations³ and the latest NICE guidance.⁴ Developed a local oral health policy. Oral care champions were nominated post training to disseminate good practice to other staff. <h3>Results</h3> A Pre and Post training questionnaire assessed prior knowledge and evidenced learning. Evaluation is based on 192 individuals completing training. Training is well received by staff with positive feedback. The pre training average knowledge score of 2.89 increased post training to 4.78. (maximum score = 6) indicating that training has a positive impact, improving knowledge. Subsequent audits showed an improvement in oral assessments and documentation. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Good oral healthcare is key to person-centred care. Benefits include improved communication, sense of wellbeing and quality of life.^{2 3} <h3>References</h3> Chen, X. <i>et al</i>.‘Oral Health in adult patients receiving palliative care: A mixed method study’. <i>American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine</i> 2021;<b>38</b>(12):1516–1525. doi:10.1177/10499091211007449. Knowledge Oral Health Care Ltd company – https://www.kohc.co.uk/ SBDN welcomes the launch of the second ‘smiling matters’ report’. BDJ Team 2023;<b>10</b>(4):3–3. doi:10.1038/s41407–023-1818–1. NICE Guidance (NG48).