November TCAID: In Focus

The health fair is part of The Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA) and incorporates several objective health measure assessments with participants of the IDS TILDA study. This Includes an oral health assessment using the OSST tool. The OSST is a quick, simple, non-invasive oral exam that aims to produce valid population-based data on the following items: denture wear, Tooth count, occluding pairs of teeth, Pairs of Occluding Premolars (POPs), oral cleanliness, gum health, cavitated teeth and oral pain.

In the IDS TILDA data collection all participants are invited to attend the Wave 5 health fair. The Oral health exam using the OSST (version 2) tool involve the research nurses examining the participants mouth and answering 9 questions in the survey on the items listed above. Dental anxiety is also included as part of the oral health assessment. Dental anxiety is reported to affect 30% of the general population but is unknown in people with intellectual disabilities. The data gathered with this survey will give a great opportunity to explore dental anxiety experienced by people with intellectual disabilities and how in some instances how it affects their oral health.

An intensive training programme involving theory and practical sessions was delivered to research nurses by Dr Caoimhin Mac Giolla Padraig (Oral health lead IDS TILDA & Special Care Dentist) and Katrina Byrne (RNID & PhD student from Dublin Dental University Hospital & TCAID). Thank you to Joan Maguire, Sean Monks, Gerry Cornally and James Rynne from Stewarts Care who all came to TCAID in Trinity College Dublin to help with the training and enable the research nurses develop their skills.  During the training on the MDAS, Gerry remarked that he “didn’t know what Anxiety was and we needed to explain this better”. This led to the development of a new easy read support document explaining what anxiety may feel and look like in addition to easy read guidance on the survey questions. Sean said he “really enjoyed visiting and didn’t mind the nurses looking in his mouth and counting his teeth”.  Joan thoroughly enjoyed the day and said “I enjoyed visiting Trinity College and being a part of teaching the nurses”. James spoke at the training of his enjoyment of the day and meeting everyone involved.