Why you should read this article:

•

To recognise the importance of providing effective oral healthcare in hospital and community care settings

•

To learn about a quality improvement project that was undertaken to address gaps in the delivery of oral healthcare

•

To consider changes you could make in your area of practice to enhance oral healthcare for patients

The promotion of oral healthcare is an integral part of nursing care. However, research has shown that staff in hospitals and community care settings often lack oral healthcare skills. This article details a quality improvement project in which a scoping exercise was undertaken in one NHS trust to assess whether ward-based oral healthcare provision was adequate. The scoping exercise identified that there was a need to address the lack of oral healthcare provision in the trust. Subsequently, a multidisciplinary working group developed an oral healthcare assessment tool and rolled this out across the trust. The authors also provided online training for nurses in the trust to assist them in using the new tool. At the same time, an audit of the oral healthcare products used in the trust, and their appropriateness, was undertaken.