ORAL HEALTH CARE FOR INSTITUTIONALIZED ELDERLY PEOPLE IN FLORIANÓPOLIS: GATHERING NURSING AND DENTAL AREAS

The aim of this work was to promote the oral health of elderly people living in two long term care institutions SERTE and SEOVE through the establishment of an oral care protocol, sharing and applying knowledges of Nursing and Dentistry areas. Initially, it was analyzed the conditions of teeth, gums, oral mucosa and prostheses of the elderly. After this recognition, it was defined the respective oral care needs and it was established and implemented an individual protocol. After three months of application of the protocol, the oral hygiene conditions were revalued. Decrease in the amount of plaque in the teeth and prostheses were not noticed, although it has had a light decrease in the amount of plaque, non sensitive to the clinical exam. However, there was an improvement on the degree of oral mucosa inflammation. During the execution of the project, it was possible to maintain the accomplishment of a protocol of weekly oral hygiene and to accomplish dental attendance for the elders, starting to extend the oral attendance to the employees of one of these institutions