Dental Health Care Requirements for Nursing Homes
Pursuant to Minnesota Administrative Rule 4658.0720, PROVIDING DAILY ORAL CARE,Subpart 1, daily oral care plan. A nursing home must establish a daily oral dental health care plan for each resident consistent with the results of the comprehensive resident assessment.
A. A resident’s daily oral care plan must indicate whether or not the resident has natural teeth or wears removable dentures or partials. It must also indicate whether the resident is able to maintain oral hygiene independently, needs supervision, or is dependent on others.
B. A nursing home must provide a resident with the supplies and assistance necessary to carry out the resident’s daily oral care plan. The supplies must include at a minimum: toothbrushes, fluoride toothpaste, mouth rinses, dental floss, denture cups, denture brushes, denture cleaning products, and denture adhesive products.
C. A nursing home must make the daily oral care plan available to the attending dentist before each checkup, and must modify the plan according to the dentist’s, dental hygienist’s, or other dental practitioner’s directions.
Subp. 2. Labeling dentures. A nursing home must label full and partial dentures with the resident’s name or other identifiers within seven days of admission.
More Dental Health Regulations
According to Minnesota Administrative Rule 4658.0725, PROVIDING ROUTINE AND EMERGENCY ORAL HEALTH SERVICES.
Subpart 1. Routine dental services. A nursing home must provide, or obtain from an outside resource, routine dental services to meet the needs of each resident. Routine dental services include dental examinations and cleanings, fillings and crowns, root canals, periodontal care, oral surgery, bridges and removable dentures, orthodontic procedures, and adjunctive services that are provided for similar dental patients in the community at large, as limited by third party reimbursement policies.
Subp. 2. Annual dental visit.
A. Within 90 days after admission, a resident must be referred for an initial dental examination unless the resident has received a dental examination within the six months before admission.
B. After the initial dental examination, a nursing home must ask the resident if the resident wants to see a dentist and then provide any necessary help to make the appointment, on at least an annual basis. This opportunity for an annual dental checkup must be provided within one year from the date of the initial dental examination or within one year from the date of the examination done within the six months before admission.
Subp. 3. Emergency dental services.
A. A nursing home must provide, or obtain from an outside resource, emergency dental services to meet the needs of each resident. Emergency dental services include services needed to treat: an episode of acute pain in teeth, gums, or palate; broken or otherwise damaged teeth; or any other problem of the oral cavity, appropriately treated by a dentist, that requires immediate attention.
B. When emergency dental problems arise, a nursing home must contact a dentist within 24 hours, describe the dental problem, and document and implement the dentist’s plans and orders.
Subp. 4. Dental records. For each dental visit, the clinical record must include the name of the dentist or dental hygienist, date of the service, specific dental services provided, medications administered, medical or dental consultations, and follow-up orders.
According to Minnesota Administrative 4658.0730, NURSING HOME REQUIREMENTS, Subpart 1. training, nursing home staff providing daily oral care must be trained and competent to provide daily oral care for residents.
Subp. 2. Written agreement. A nursing home must maintain a written dental provider agreement with at least one dentist, licensed by the Board of Dentistry, who agrees to provide:
A. routine and emergency dental care for the nursing home’s residents;
B. consultation on the nursing home’s oral health policies and procedures; and
C. oral health training for nursing home staff.
Subp. 3. Making appointments. A nursing home must assist residents in making dental appointments and arranging for transportation to and from the dentist’s office.
Subp. 4. On-site services. A nursing home must arrange for on-site dental services for residents who cannot travel, if those services are available in the community.
Subp. 5. List of dentists. A nursing home must maintain a list of dentists in the service area willing and able to provide routine or emergency dental services for the nursing home’s residents. Copies of the list must be readily accessible to nursing personnel.
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney Kenneth LaBore has decades of experience and handles the following types of elder abuse claims and others:
Infectious Disease
Infectious Diseases (MRSA, C-Diff)
Violation of Resident Rights
Patient Lift Injuries and Other Improper Use of Medical Equipment
For a Free Consultation to obtain information on how to hold negligent wrongdoers accountable from an experienced elder abuse attorney contact Minneapolis Elder Abuse Neglect Attorney Kenneth LaBore at 612-743-9048 or Toll Free at 1-888-452-6589, email: KLaBore@MNnursinghomeneglect.com.