Checklists - Age related care


Age related care checklists are intended to support you in your effort to provide age appropriate care and education.

Learn more about:


Children 6 months to 6 years


  • Management of pain during tooth eruption
  • Remove plaque and prevent build-up
  • Enamel remineralisation
  • Encourage parent to provide child with oral hygiene guidance

  • Parent brushing or parent guidance on brushing?
  • Nutrition/Snacking?
  • Obesity? Diabetes type I?

  • Provide guidance on how to brush & encourage parent to become a friendly oral hygiene coach
  • Provide nutrition guidance: good and bad foods for dental health
  • Recommend and ensure visit frequency

Note on GUM RED-COTE® tablets: This product can be used by children without specific contra indication or age limit. The only limit is based on common sense, meaning that the child must be able to not swallow the product.


Children 7-11 years


  • Raise awareness about need for orthodontic treatment if required
  • Remove plaque and prevent build-up
  • Enamel remineralization
  • Awareness of oral care problems
  • Establishment of good habits to ensure compliance
  • Encourage parent to provide child with oral hygiene guidance

  • Parent guidance on brushing?
  • Nutrition/Snacking?
  • Obesity? Diabetes type I?

  • Educate child and encourage parent to become a friendly oral hygiene coach
  • Provide nutrition guidance: good and bad foods for dental health
  • Assess and evoke the potential need to apply a pit and fissure sealant
  • Recommend visit frequency

Note on GUM RED-COTE tablets: This product can be used by children without specific contra indication or age limit. The only limit is based on common sense, meaning that the child must be able to not swallow the product.


Teens


  • Raise awareness about orthodontic treatment if needed
  • Help teen understand plaque and inform about consequences of bad oral care habits. Educate and motivate teen and encourage parent as an oral hygiene coach
  • Remind that maintaining healthy gums promotes good breath and helps maintain more pleasant social interactions
  • Brush teeth at least twice a day using fluoride toothpaste and use interdental cleaners daily

Complete or review patient screener - has something changed?

  • Taking care of oral health is an investment in overall health. Start young and develop excellent habits
  • Recommend a healthy diet, limiting food and drinks with added sugars – educate about good and bad foods for dental health
  • Educate about impact of smoking

  • Recommend 2-minute brushing twice daily. Emphasise the need for thorough plaque removal and a good brushing technique particularly if patient has orthodontic appliances
  • Discuss daily interdental cleaning and explain it helps clean where a toothbrush cannot
  • Recommend easy-to-use interdental brushes/rubber interdental cleaners as most effective and compliance-promoting method (interdental space permitting)
  • Assess and evoke the potential need to apply a pit and fissure sealant
  • Nutrition guide when needed
  • Remind to change toothbrush or toothbrush head at least every 12 weeks and interdental cleaners as recommended on pack
  • Schedule regular dental check-ups and cleanings


Adults


  • Raise awareness of potential oral care problems, lifestyle risk factors and effect of co-morbidities. Validate, discuss and provide targeted solutions
  • Remind that maintaining healthy gums, saving teeth and avoiding crowns and dentures helps to avert discomfort, extra costs, and helps maintain more pleasant social interactions

Complete or review patient screener - has something changed?

  • Discuss to uncover patient’s lifestyle risk factors & possible co-morbidities in order to provide differential recommendations
  • Remind oral care best practices to avoid increased risk of gingival bleeding and impact on systemic health
  • Remind about nutrition and frequency of visits to maintain oral health and protect overall health

  • Recommend targeted solutions, as needed for
  1. Orthodontic treatment
  2. Dentine hypersensitivity
  3. Enamel erosion
  4. Implants/restoration
  5. Prosthetic reconstruction
  6. Halitosis
  7. Oral ulcers
  • Recommend 2-minute brushing twice daily using appropriate modified Bass technique
  • Budget permitting, recommend power brushes to better care for gingival inflammation and plaque levels
  • Discuss daily interdental cleaning and explain it helps to clean where a toothbrush cannot
  • Space permitting, recommend easy-to-use interdental brushes and rubber interdental cleaners as most effective method shown to promote compliance
  • Nutrition guide when needed
  • Remind to change toothbrush or toothbrush head at least every 12 weeks and interdental cleaners as recommended on pack
  • Schedule regular dental check-ups and cleanings

GUM product recommendations


Elderly (70+)


  • Raise awareness about plaque and possibility of tooth preservation into old age
  • Remind that systemic diseases (Diabetes, CVD, other) require greater attention to oral health
  • Provide differential recommendations depending on patient’s oral health status, co-morbidities and risk-factors

Complete or review patient screener - has something changed ?

Discuss and inquire about risk factors using screener.

  • Ask about systemic medications for conditions including: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, auto-immune disease, thyroid problems, iron deficiency/anemia (potential impact on oral health status)
  • Undergoing cancer treatment?
  • Nutrition? Obesity? Alcohol?
  • Consider also: memory loss, dementia; handicap (mental or physical)

  • Health status permitting, always recommend daily toothbrushing, daily interdental cleaning and mouth rinsing as necessary
  • Space permitting, recommend easy-to-use interdental brushes/rubber interdental cleaners as most effective and compliance-promoting method
  • Remind frequency of visits
  • Nutrition guide when needed
  • Based on screener, refer to dentist as needed

Recommend targeted solutions, as needed for:

  • Reduced dexterity
  • Dentine hypersensitivity
  • Enamel erosion
  • Implants/restoration
  • Prosthetic reconstruction
  • Halitosis
  • Oral ulcers
  • Denture care/tooth loss