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Three members of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) are featured on this month’s JCDA cover. CDA’s Oral Health Promotion Award was presented to the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), during an awards ceremony held in Ottawa in November 2009.

L. to r.: Ms. Nancy Watters, RNAO board member, Ms. Una Ferguson, guideline panel member and Ms. Toba Miller, guideline panel leader.

The RNAO was a recipient of CDA’s 2009 Oral Health Promotion Award in recognition of its outstanding contribution to oral health promotion for the development of its best practice guideline Oral Health: Nursing Assessment and Interventions.

“We are thrilled to receive this award and applaud CDA for valuing this important work in promoting oral health and for enhancing interprofessional collaboration in a very real way,” says Ms. Heather McConnell, associate director of international affairs and best practice guidelines program at RNAO.

The RNAO guideline was developed by a diverse team of health care professionals to assist nurses by providing them with evidence-based oral health resources tools for adults with special needs, including the elderly, the physically compromised and those with mental health issues. The RNAO guideline has the ability to raise the oral health awareness of the 144,000 nurses practising in Ontario and to support professional development in oral health care for all health care professionals in Ontario.

“The intent of this guideline is to bring safe, effective and high-quality oral health care to vulnerable populations in a variety of settings,” adds Ms. Toba Miller, leader of the RNAO guideline panel.

To help support the implementation of this guideline, the RNAO partnered with the Halton Region Health Department to produce 2 DVDs, designed to assist nurses and other health care professionals in delivering safe and effective oral care to vulnerable groups.

Related Resources

The RNAO best practice guideline Oral Health: Nursing Assessment and Interventions is available at www.rnao.org/oral-health-guideline. The instructional DVDs are available from the RNAO Online Catalogue at www.rnao.org/best-practices-dvds.

CDA’s Committee on Clinical and Scientific Affairs developed a compilation of best dental and oral care practices for seniors along the continuum of care, from the private practice setting to long-term care facilities. This resource is available to CDA members at www.cda-adc.ca/en/dental_profession/practising/best_practices_seniors/default.asp.

The Seniors Health Research Transfer Network (SHRTN) Oral Health Community of Practice is offering 3 webinars (December 16, 2009, January 13 and February 3, 2010) that will feature guided, step-by-step instructions on the 2-toothbrush method—a practical technique for providing oral care to frail older adults. To register for these webinars, please visit www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=sobgJQ1cuQGpJ6F3CN_2f3Cg_3d_3d.