Purpose: To keep the mouth clean and prevent infections.
Equipment: Toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, fresh water, cup or straw, swabs, emesis basin, personal protective equipment
Procedure:
- Wash your hands
- Tell the client what you are about to do
- Assemble the equipment
- Have client sit up or assist him/her to the sink.
- Place towel across chest if applicable.
- Place emesis basin on the towel under the client's chin.
- Offer the client a wet toothbrush with toothpaste.
- Prompt client to brush teeth.
- Use a gentle motion, brushing all teeth.
- Offer client opportunity to rinse mouth with either water or mouthwash, spitting in the emesis basin
- If the client has no teeth or few teeth, swab the mouth with either a lemon-glycerin swab or toothette (swab with mouthwash).
- Dry the client's face and chin.
- Lubricate the lips with a water-soluble lubricant.
- Wash your hands.
Purpose: To clean the client's dentures, to prevent infections, to protect the dentures when they are out of the client's mouth and to store dentures at bedtime.
Equipment: Toothbrush, toothpaste or denture cleaner, emesis basis, towel water, mouthwash, denture cup with cover, denture adhesive, protective equipment.
Procedure: Removing dentures
- Wash your hands.
- Ask the client to remove his/her dentures. If the client cannot remove them, put on gloves, place a tissue over the fingers of the hand you are using to remove his/her dentures and remove the dentures.
- Remove the upper denture by gently moving the denture from side to side and pull down.
- Remove the lower denture using an upward motion. Move the denture to the side of the mouth and remove.
- Place the dentures in the emesis basin.
- Clean the dentures in a safe place to avoid breaking them.
- Hold them in the palm of your hand while cleaning to prevent dropping them.
- Brush dentures with toothpaste or denture cleaner and rinse.
- Fill the denture cup ½ full with fresh water and ½ full of mouthwash or use a commercial product. Place dentures in the cup.
- Place denture cup in a safe place.
- Follow the procedure for mouth care.
- Wash your hands.
- Wash your hands.
- Assist client in rinsing his/her mouth.
- Rinse dentures with warm water, then dry them.
- Pick up denture with a tissue, place denture in client's mouth.
- Apply denture adhesive if necessary.
- Wash your hands.
- Provide denture care before breakfast and at bedtime.
- Be aware of poorly fit dentures; weight loss causes dentures to become loose.
