23rd American World Dentistry Congress November 02-03, 2018 San Francisco, California, USA

Sonya Dunbar, also known as the Geriatric Tooth fairy is a registered Dental Hygienist she has and over 25 years of dental experience in private practice, skilled nursing facilities, academia and marketing and has proudly served her country in the United States Navy. For the last 15 years, she worked in long-term care facilities both as a Dental Hygienist providing clinical treatment and as a staff trainer providing in-services and hands-on training to the staff and we cannot forget her very entertaining seminars packed with valuable information on Geriatric oral care. That experience has afforded her the opportunity to learn the concerns, desires, needs, and expectations of patients and their families as well as those of facility staff and administration. Her experience also created a desire in her to do things better to improve the quality of care and level of customer service provided to residents, staff, and administration of long-term care facilities.

In my 15 plus years working as a dental hygienist in long-term care facilities, I have seen the most reprehensible oral care imaginable. I have witnessed dentures that had not been removed or cleaned in years. I have seen tube-fed residents who had

not had their teeth brushed in months because of the staff’s failure to see the necessity of providing oral home care. I recently treated a patient who had so much tartar build up on his lower anterior teeth that he could not close his mouth or properly chew his food. I have listened to the countless, heart-wrenching accounts of elders so embarrassed by their dental condition that they were ashamed to smile or even let me examine their mouths. Dental health plays a significant role in mental and emotional health and well-being. Therefore, caregiver provision of proper oral homecare helps maintain the dignity of the geriatric community. Whether the neglect is due to caregivers’ lack of knowledge or lack of compassion, the result is detrimental to the systemic health of the elderly. Uncontrolled oral bacteria can lead to pneumonia, diabetes, strokes, and heart attacks. It has even been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Frequently, cognitive impairment intensifies preexisting oral problems. For instance, elders with Alzheimer’s typically have poor oral care and a higher incidence of oral diseases. The most deplorable aspect of this situation is the fact that it is readily preventable. The quality of life and systemic health of residents in long-term care facilities can be significantly improved by simple, consistent, and effective oral care practices

Svoboda obtained a Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto & then proceeded to earn a PhD and a Licence to Practice Dentistry from the Faculty of Dentistry at the same University. In 1982 he began his private Practice in Brampton as a General Dentist. Dr. Svoboda provided a wide range of services for his patients including tooth repair, removal & replacement with fixed bridges and dentures. In 1990 Dr. Svoboda started to include Dental Implants in his treatments. Today, Dr. Svoboda devotes much of his time, providing treatment involving dental Implants for his Patients and Patients referred to him by other professionals. Implant treatment involves Special Diagnostic, Surgical & Prosthetic components. Dr. Svoboda usually provides all Phases of Implant Treatment for his patients in his office. Dr. Svoboda is a longstanding member of many local dental organizations, including the Canadian Dental Association, Ontario Dental Association and Halton-Peel Dental Association.

The incidence of prosthetic related peri-implant disease is on the rise. Abutment manufacturers must comply with Government and ISO Standards in order to sell their products in North America. These standards assume that the dentist will install these abutments according to manufacturer’s specifications and thus optimize the implant-abutment connection. The current screw-in prosthesis installation systems make it unlikely that dentists can consistently comply with these regulations. The basis of the problem rests in the fact that all dental models are inaccurate, and thus the prosthesis made to fit a dental model is also inaccurate. The screw-in installation technique dictates that the abutments are to be attached to the prosthesis on the dental model, before being installed into the mouth. The abutments are thus constrained by the inaccurate prosthesis, and their fit onto their respective dental implants cannot be optimized. It exposes our patients to the known “technique related” risk factor for peri-implant disease, known as the implant-abutment misfit or macrogap. Applying an intra-oral cementation step to the screw-in technique, can solve this macrogap and misfit problem. The technique involves the use of “well designed” custom abutments, prostheses and supporting techniques that are sensitive to the Gingival Effects™ and precludes cement voids, overhangs and open margins

Sonya Dunbar, also known as the Geriatric Tooth fairy is a registered Dental Hygienist she has and over 25 years of dental experience in private practice, skilled nursing facilities, academia and marketing and has proudly served her country in the United States Navy. For the last 15 years, she worked in long-term care facilities both as a Dental Hygienist providing clinical treatment and as a staff trainer providing in-services and hands-on training to the staff and we cannot forget her very

entertaining seminars packed with valuable information on Geriatric oral care. That experience has afforded her the opportunity to learn the concerns, desires, needs, and expectations of patients and their families as well as those of facility staff and administration. Her experience also created a desire in her to do things better to improve the quality of care and level of customer service provided to residents, staff, and administration of long-term care facilities.

In my 15 plus years working as a dental hygienist in long-term care facilities, I have seen the most reprehensible oral care

imaginable. I have witnessed dentures that had not been removed or cleaned in years. I have seen tube-fed residents who had not had their teeth brushed in months because of the staff’s failure to see the necessity of providing oral home care. I recently treated a patient who had so much tartar build up on his lower anterior teeth that he could not close his mouth or properly chew his food. I have listened to the countless, heart-wrenching accounts of elders so embarrassed by their dental condition that they were ashamed to smile or even let me examine their mouths. Dental health plays a significant role in mental and emotional health and well-being. Therefore, caregiver provision of proper oral homecare helps maintain the dignity of the geriatric community. Whether the neglect is due to caregivers’ lack of knowledge or lack of compassion, the result is detrimental to the systemic health of the elderly. Uncontrolled oral bacteria can lead to pneumonia, diabetes, strokes, and heart attacks. It has even been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Frequently, cognitive impairment intensifies preexisting oral problems. For instance, elders with Alzheimer’s typically have poor oral care and a higher incidence of oral diseases. The most deplorable aspect of this situation is the fact that it is readily preventable. The quality of life and systemic health of residents in long-term care facilities can be significantly improved by simple, consistent, and effective oral care practices.