Care Home Residents' and Family Members' Experiences of and Preferences for Domiciliary Dental Care

OBJECTIVE: To explore care home residents' and family members' experiences of, and preferences for, domiciliary dental care, using a qualitative study design. BACKGROUND: Quantitative studies on the effect of domiciliary dental care (DDC) programmes have demonstrated positive effects both on care home residents' clinical treatment needs and care staff's knowledge and attitudes. However, residents' and family members' experiences and perspectives of domiciliary dental care following programme enrolment remain unexplored. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted within a constructivist paradigm. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 30 care home residents and 16 family members. Audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three major themes were generated. First, both residents and family members approached residents' oral health care passively. Second, participants placed strong trust in the care home, expecting staff to manage any issues that might arise. Third, DDC was identified as acceptable and preferred, particularly because it removed transportation-related barriers. Residents reported positive experiences with DDC, though some viewed the visits as routine and unremarkable, which reflects the normalisation and acceptability of DDC within the care environment. CONCLUSION: Residents and family members relied strongly on both the care home and the domiciliary dental care programme, showing little proactive engagement in their own or their relatives' oral health care. DDC offers an acceptable and accessible means of delivering professional dental care to care home residents.