Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Ask a Cleveland Nursing Home Injury Attorney: The Importance of Oral Health

Ask any nursing home injury attorney in Cleveland. Nursing home abuse can take many forms, including something as simple as poor dental care. Residents more often than not, can go for extended periods without proper dental care, which can cause severe health consequences. This can result in extreme weight loss, and in some of the most severe cases, even pneumonia.

Nursing homes are often understaffed, which means that dental care more often than not simply falls off the charts and to-do lists. Gum disease, cracked teeth, cavities or other oral health problems can cause tremendous pain for the residents and open their bodies to disease and infection. A number of studies have shown that the rising lack of proper dental care may be contributing to increase cases of pneumonia, the leading cause of death for elderly people in nursing home care.

Check to see what sort of dental care your loved one is being provided. Some facilities include dental hygienists to care for their residents, while others let it fall to the wayside. Regular checkups and cleanings are important, especially when it comes to the elderly who typically suffer from the highest percentage of dental problems.

Medicare typically does not cover dental work, though some Medicaid programs do. Check to see if your loved one qualifies. There are also social dental care programs available that do free or reduced cost services for children and the elderly. Check to see if these are available for your loved one in a nursing home.

Dental health is an often overlooked problem when it comes to nursing home care, especially in the face of industry cutbacks. If your loved one suffers from bad oral health due to negligence, contact a lawyer in Cleveland specializing in nursing home cases. Severe instances may need to be pursued in court for the sake of your loved one.