be quite difficult. Dental teams can encounter issues trying to cope with the complexities of dementia, the most common cause being Alzheimer’s disease. For example, clinicians may have to navigate the informed consent process with substitute decision makers and conduct a shared decisionmaking conversation. New and innovative ways to meet the oral health needs of older adult patients need to be developed, especially for frail and functionally dependent older adults living in the community, assisted living, or long-term care (LTC) facilities. The dental profession can adapt to these issues through rational treatment planning, thinking about the risk factors of rapid oral health deterioration and giving greater consideration to how treatment plans can be more geriatric friendly. According to Dr. Tong, our dental schools can play a big role in this process, especially by offering a didactic and clinical curriculum that helps new dentists become more comfortable and confident in treating older adults. “There is a role for graduate level training in geriatrics, which currently doesn’t really exist in Canada,” he says. “Such training can create a cohort of clinicians that have additional skills and knowledge to treat medically and clinically complex patients within our geriatric population.” By taking part in this program, dentists can examine and treat elderlypatients andalsogainabetter understandingof theunique demands and situations that arise in the aging population. After one year, they will be familiar with the organizational layout of LTC facilities, the function that dentistry plays within these institutions, and the other geriatric-related services offered in Canada. They would be more proficient at communicating with family members, caregivers, other health professionals, and medical teams as well as conducting appropriate pre-operative risk assessments and interpreting LTC hospital medical data. “Our program can provide a foundation for a career in geriatrics, either in private practice or academia or public health. It’s a wonderful area of our profession and it’s underserved at this time,” explains Dr. Tong. “There are a lot of opportunities for those who are considering a career in geriatrics. Working with an older adult population is also wonderfully rewarding.You get a chance to interact with them and their families and you help people that don’t have easy access to care. And when you can relieve the oral pain of a person living in LTC, that can be a very rewarding part of a dentist’s career.” Learnmore about theUBC’s GeriatricDentistry Residency Programat: dentistry.ubc.ca/ general-practice-residency-trainingprogram/about-the-gpr-program There are a lot of opportunities for those who are considering a career in geriatrics. Working with an older adult population is also wonderfully rewarding. Hear more from Dr. Tong on CDA Oasis: bit.ly/3NE2Tet The Geriatric Dentistry Residency Track program at UBC, led by Dr. Tong, provides an opportunity for dentists to learn more about a range of geriatric dentistry issues within the context of the medical, psychosocial, and physical conditions common amongst older adults. “Historically, we’ve had a hospital dentistry residency track where a small number of residents are trained through our core teaching hospitals in Vancouver, including Vancouver General Hospital and the BC Cancer Agency. But we recently acquired funding from the provincial Ministry of Health, so we were able to add a one-year geriatric residency track in our program,” says Dr. Tong The multidisciplinary program incorporates three main components: didactic courses, clinical training, and teaching/ administrative training. Its overall goal is to provide dental professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to offer patient-centered, and realistic treatment plans for geriatric patients in institutional, community and private settings. The program also provides the opportunity for dentists to contribute to the academic and professional development of geriatrics. Issues and People
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