The British Society for Disability and Oral Health's Guidelines for the delivery of a domiciliary oral healthcare service were recently relaunched at Branksome Care Home in Poole in an event attended by the Chief Dental Officer for England, Barry Cockcroft.
Revised by a working group on behalf of the society headed up by Debbie Lewis, Specialist in Special Care Dentistry at Dorset HealthCare NHS Foundation Trust, and Janice Fiske, Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Special Care Dentistry at King's College London Dental Institute, the aim of the guidelines is to alert primary care trusts, local health boards and boroughs and service providers to the need to make domiciliary oral healthcare services (DOHCS) available.
The document provides guidance on establishing standards for the delivery of high quality DOHCS and commissioning appropriate DOHCS. It also includes updated information about the decision making process for domiciliary dental treatment, a care pathway, risk assessment and referral forms, details on capacity assessment and an example of good practice, and details about the equipment required to provide the service. Training, health and safety issues are also highlighted.
Left to right: Debbie Lewis, Specialist in Special Care Dentistry at Dorset HealthCare NHS Foundation Trust, Chief Dental Officer for England Barry Cockcroft, and guidelines co-author Janice Fiske, Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Special Care Dentistry at King's College London Dental Institute
The guidelines are available online from
Demand for DOHC is increasing as a result of a growing population of older people. There were 99,000 claims in total for courses of DOHCS treatment in England and Wales on a domiciliary basis in the year April 2008 to March 2009.
