Are you interested in becoming a Senior Smiles practioner?
Senior Smiles is a preventive oral health triage program that provides preventive oral care on-site in the Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) environment delivered by qualified oral health therapists or dental hygienists. Residents receive oral health education, have oral health risk assessments conducted, have individual oral health care plans developed for them and then the Senior Smiles practitioners develop referral pathways to local dentists and dental prosthetists to ensure the residents have access to timely dental care, both at the RACF and in the community.
The Senior Smiles practitioners advocate for the resident, manage the initial paperwork, liaise with family members and RACF staff to facilitate appropriate and timely dental care. The Senior Smiles program is a model of care that maximises the dental team with each member of that dental team providing the appropriate care for residents.
Training in the Senior Smiles preventive oral health program is available for all dental practioners, the program is ideally suited to oral health therapists and dental hygienists who work on-site in the RACF, while establishing close partnerships with local community dentists and dental prosthetists. The Senior Smiles model works because it focuses on prevention and maximises the dental team by developing partnerships with dentists and dental prosthetists close to the individual Residential Aged Care Facilities.
Training courses for the Senior Smiles program will be offered through ADANSW CPD courses. Check the calendar for up and coming dates.