If you are a caregiver, you have to ensure that your patient enjoys a good standard of living. This means taking care of their health and allows them to feel good about themselves. Often, you can guide them in the right direction and also allow patients to keep some of their independence. For example, this is something that you can do when it comes to dental care. You can help patients look after their teeth in a few simple ways. Let’s take a look at how you can do this.
Create a Routine
A lot of patients are going to benefit from having a routine every day. That can mean that they feel safe and secure, having a sense of stability in their life. Patients can be fearful of the unknown and they are able to work through their day better when they have an idea of what is ahead. Therefore, you want to help them create a routine for their looking after their oral health. This can be brushing their teeth at the same time every day and having a routine leading up to this point.
Visit the Dentist Before Treatment
Everybody needs work done on their teeth at some point in their lives. But, for a lot of patients, this can be a scary experience that they are not used to. They might be used to staying in the same environment and not going to new places outside of their comfort zone, as explained on a Hamilton dentist blog. So, when they suddenly have to go to the dentist, it can be a traumatic and hard experience for them. One of the best things you can do is take them to the dentist before their appointment or treatment.
Use the ‘Watch Me’ Technique
For some patients, taking care of their oral health may be confusing. So, you are going to need to help them adjust and be able to take care of themselves. It can be beneficial to allow some patients to have independence, but you can still be there to offer guidance. For instance, if a patient is struggling to look after their teeth, you can use the ‘watch me’ technique. In other words, demonstrate how to brush and floss correctly. Then, they are going to be able to copy you and do it themselves.
Involve Technology
Technology is there to make everyone’s lives easier. In particular, it can be something that is used to look after your oral health. For example, you can get alarms that will ring when patients need to brush their teeth. In addition, there are devices that can help patients time how long they are brushing their teeth for. It can be difficult to allow some patients to have independence and for them still to look after themselves. But, getting technology involved is a good way to do this. Just make sure that you explain the technology to patients beforehand.
