Does anyone have any advice on how best to tackle oral hygiene ( Lack of ) in supported living. My daughter needs help from her support worker to ensure her teeth are cleaned to standard. What the best way to write this into her care plan?
Every time she lives in one of these establishments it fails to be done by her carers? Resulting in her having really poor hygiene and can lead to tooth extraction & unnecessary pain for her.
I don't know how I can make this clear enough ? Do we need to apply for anything extra from the care company or social services Adult social care department so they perform the tasks that are needed.
Eg can it be written into a care contract ? What training can be offered to support workers to help them ?
Thanks
Written by
Cakes2695
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Hi. I get the carers to keep a log each day , morning and night using a shared google drive to let me know if my son brushed his teeth. They have to write that they prompted him at least so that I know if they tried and then I know if it wasn’t done it was just my son who was being awkward - which is often the case. The notes are written up daily so as long as you review the notes daily you can keep tabs on it. I also ask them to let me have a summary of all his toiletries weekly so we can all be aware if he needs new toothpaste mouthwash or brushes. We also see our son at least 3 or 4 times a week so that we can check ourselves and talk to him about it. I also book dental appointments but he has been refusing to go for the last year. It’s a lot of work but what else can you do. Good luck
Believe it or not carers make poor excuses in this area. Complain and ensure it's addressed 2 mins A/M P/M why can't they deal .. trying to see what the barriers are for LD adults.
My daughter has it in her care plan, but she doesn’t get the help to brush her teeth to the standard expected by her dentist. No one takes responsibility.
Why do you think supported living care companies are failing to address the issues ? I would ask them to try not brushing their own teeth correctly for a period of weeks and see how they feel . I find it disgraceful that its not better actioned it takes 2 mins and is a basic requirement. Don't stand for it escalate & complain until the help is at the required standard. It will avoid health issues that occur from long term neglect.
I have escalated until blue in the face, to care management who agree but do little to supervise the work of their staff, and to local authority social care who are footing the care bill. What let’s the whole system down is that according to the care act it’s my daughters choice if she doesn’t clean her teeth (even if basic care need) so I feel that gets used as an excuse. She doesn’t understand the consequences of not brushing them. She’s 30 now and as testament to my nagging she has no fillings but what happens when I’m not around to intervene?
It's not the first time I've heard that stupid excuse. So people who cannot do it themselves, then go without. It happens everywhere though. When my Uncle was in hospital and couldn't feed himself, he needed help. They put it in front of them, he couldn't do it without help, full dinner then taken away. They should be ashamed of themselves. They must take some delight in not helping people. Hope it happens to them some day.
Thank for the reply it is driving me mad .. I just can't tolerate the excuses and lack of understanding. My daughter is living back at home again because of another failed service provider . Supported living fails due to lack of support it is really bad in Shropshire . Really worried about the next team failing the basics yet again : 1) Clean body & oral hygiene 2) Food /diet that ensures no harm or excessive weight gain. 3) Activities that make a person feel valued. It's not like we are asking for the earth either !!
It’s disgusting we are all getting abused something needs to be done about this it’s disgraceful I’m so sorry guys if I could be a suport worker for someone I would make sure I did everything i have to for the person I was helping x
I'm really sorry to say this but I have a learningdisability it seems to be that there isn't reallygood standards of care available there's lots ofyoung people and people that see the job asa
easy job and easy money that’s what people told me
in my last supported
housing some staff went to sleep at work duringthe day when they meant to help us a staffmember got fired for smoking something in myneighbours room
staff used to do there uni work
when there meant to be helping us
Care is just not good I think social care in the uk
is a big problem I'm getting abused I'm from
Yorkshire
My old suport worker swearing at me and tryingto get me to buy them something and I didn't nothat was bad and they were meant to come for 4hours and lots of the time they didn't come and didn’t tell me that they not coming
Some said I should get hidden cameras have you thought about getting hidden cameras then you have proof and you can make sure you can check what goes on where your family lives there’s a lot of not good things that goes on in supported living sometimes it’s good to check if you can
I want to go on tv lots of people getting abused in the UK i been getting abused for years and now they keep trying to make out like no one is doing anything that it’s mental health that’s what they do they are very clever I been talking to lots of people so I no sometimes very clever people can try get you to believe that it’s you when there doing bad things to people they try to hide it by saying no that person has mental health or that person has problem with memory so they won’t remember that properly I had enough of these people 😡
It’s so upsetting for me that I’m getting abused and I have been for years and no one to help me my family don’t care and I no that lots of other people are getting treat bad and I can’t do anything about it Its making me really not ok i think it needs to be on the news tv it needs to be sorted out I wish I could be a suport worker i would be a really good one
On TV you are always hearing about groups to help people and when it comes to the crunch, and like you, desperately need help, there's no one there for you. Keep on pushing, you'll find someone to listen and take notice. Would the Samaritans be of any use to ring I wonder?
Thanks very much I rang them I rang everyone now I hope your ok I wish I wish I had lots of money because then I would take people with disabilities out of out of care homes And make sure they get very good care I would make my own place and make sure everyone was doing a good job
From what I seen it’s like people forget people with disabilities are people and it like they don’t matter sometimes and people can be very selfish like they can’t be bothered and it’s not there life so it’s ok
Thank you I just hate what’s going on people think it’s ok to get paid and not do there job and I been in danger lots when you can’t work out what to do they say it’s your choice and don’t help you so it’s ok for people to get hurt
I would approach the social worker/ care manager to raise this with any care provider ( sheltered/ supported housing manager ( may not work but worth a try) this is persibal care and should be done my staff. You may find a water jet tooth pic is also good as removes debris from teeth but depends if you daughter can tolerate that. They come in cordless varieties and can help. If you get no where with social worker or staff raise a compliant with social services as this could and should form abuse.
Hi there. You state that your daughter does not understand the consequences of not cleaning her teeth. Being able to weigh up information and understand consequences is one of the tests of having ‘capacity’ to make a certain decision (mental capacity act). Since your daughter does not have capacity to make her own decision in this matter, the decision has to be made for her in her ‘best interests’. Obviously, it is in her best interests to be supported to have good oral hygiene. So, if anyone says she has the right to decide this herself, you need to say that she does not have capacity for this particular decision as she does not understand the consequences. Do you have a community dental team in your area? Perhaps contact their special needs dentist and explain the situation and ask for them to provide you with a written oral health plan to be incorporated into her care plan. Good luck.
Hi there, perhaps you should complain to cqc, I was a support worker for years, am now retired, I used to clean the teeth of the guys I supported they lacked capacity so I would do it, some of my fellow workers wouldn’t, I complained regularly to my Managers but got absolutely nowhere, Managers don’t want to implement anything these days it seems. It is a basic human right to have your teeth cleaned, everyone should have proper oral hygiene.
Hi my son lives in supported living and we encountered this issue. We know get staff to log daily(There has to be a level of trust) and we resorted to putting laminated instructions in his room on a communication board
I find these comments very shocking but not surprising. The staff need to be properly trained, qualified and paid far more for what can be a demanding and challenging job, I see many care jobs advertised as no experience necessary and offering the minimum wage, ridiculous! Most go into care work having no idea or experience and sometimes no compassion for learning disabled adults. My 19 yr old severely autistic son who is nonverbal needs 24/7 care at home, from cleaning his teeth and charting his bowel movements to keeping him entertained. If he isnt closely monitored, any pain would result in challenging behaviour or self harm.
Those who dont understand each individuals needs dont realise that by neglecting something as simple as brushing teeth, could cause a pain that the person cannot communicate, resulting in challenging behaviour that will ultimately be controlled with strong drugs, because they wont know the reason, so the person will continue to suffer.
The future is so worrying for our loved ones when we're no longer around to look out for them, things really need to improve. 😢
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Safeguarding in supported living
Household Bills in supported living 
For my brother 
