Abstract:

Palliative care is active comprehensive care for patients whose illness does not respond to treatment.  Palliative care specialists deal with patients in the terminal stage of illness or aging. Palliative care is an approach that encompasses procedures to relieve pain, distressing symptoms and maintain function as much as possible in the sick or very elderly, including in life-threatening illnesses. The field of palliative care is considered the most interdisciplinary of all medical specialties.

Oral care is important for all people and should be considered as a part of daily medical care. Palliative care dentistry focuses on the treatment of sick patients where the oral cavity is directly or indirectly affected by the disease. Regular examinations and oral hygiene should be started early in palliative care patients to optimize comfort and prevent more serious complications. The dentist should help to reduce pain from the oral cavity and ensure sufficient dental function, must establish and treat the main complaints, propose an oral hygiene plan to the patient, medical staff or relatives.

Palliative care patients and their caregivers often neglect oral problems and the need for oral hygiene, resulting in many daily difficulties that include difficulty chewing, dry mouth, risk of infection and inflamations, bad breath and nutrition, changes in taste, which ultimately impair their quality of life.

Key words: Geriatric dentistry, oral palliative care, oral health