Medication for mental health: Oral health impacts

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This review of the side effects of medications prescribed for the management of mental health highlights their potential impact on oral health. The commonest problems being xerostomia.

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Using Thickness Indicator Model tubes help staff to accurately modify fluid consistency when supporting people with dysphagia

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When choking risk is identified for people with learning disabilities and fluid consistency modification is prescribed, it is critical that staff get the consistency right. Here we report on an efficacy study which looked at whether the use of Thickness Indicator Model tubes as a visual aid in training improved the efficacy of staff training.

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Dysphagia training increased staff confidence and knowledge

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Difficulties with swallowing can lead to significant risk, from aspiration, dehydration, recurrent chest infections and of course choking risk. Dysphagia, the difficulty in preparation of food in the mouth for swallowing, can have a number of causes, physiological, environmental and behavioural. The consequences of not identifying and then dealing with the issue can clearly have [read the full story…]

Study estimates prevalence of need for mealtime support for people with learning disabilities in the UK

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Mealtimes are important occasions for many people with learning disabilities, offering opportunities for social interaction as well as nourishment, they can also carry significant health risks. There has been a good deal of research on dysphagia. or difficulty in swallowing, but the authors of this study were keen to explore the range of difficulties that [read the full story…]