Oral care cargo bike offers solution for vulnerable elderly people living at home
For elderly and vulnerable people who are unable or have difficulty visiting the dentist, the Acta dental faculty is launching the Acta cargo bike from the coming academic year: students will visit elderly people at home to give them lessons in brushing their teeth and other preventive oral care.
Following a successful pilot, the project has become a permanent part of Acta’s dentistry curriculum. Each year, around seventy pairs of students will provide care to elderly people living within a seven-kilometre radius of the dental faculty in Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district. The students will provide the care needed to prevent oral health problems and refer patients for treatment if necessary.
Win-win
Last year, a pilot project was launched in which twenty home visits were made to people over the age of ninety in a three-month period. “It’s a win-win situation. Elderly people are happy with the free care they receive at home, which they would not otherwise receive. Students gain personal and professional development in return,” says geriatric dentist Claar van der Maarel-Wierink, who was one of the initiators of the pilot project. “The Acta dentist of the future must not forget the growing group of vulnerable elderly people. That is our social responsibility. With this care provision, we are reaching a forgotten group who can no longer come to the practice. Many of the problems that students see can be prevented if we do not lose sight of this group.”
Dementia
According to Van der Maarel, an estimated three in five vulnerable elderly people have problems with their teeth. These problems often arise because they are no longer able to care for their teeth or forget to do so, for example due to dementia. They also often no longer have a social network, which means that oral care is neglected. Problems that arise include broken teeth, fungal infections or broken dentures. Bicycle dentists can then offer preventive relief.
