Original article Oral care training in the basic education of care professionals Heidi Samson 1 , Marjolein Memelink Iversen 2 and Gunhild Vesterhus Strand 1 1 Department of Clinical Dentistry – Gerodontology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; 2 Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bergen University College, Norway doi:10.1111/j.1741-2358.2009.00304.x Oral care training in the basic education of care professionals Objective: To investigate the quantity and quality of oral care training in the basic education of future long-term care (LTC) professionals in Norway. Background: The level of oral hygiene has often proved inadequate in LTC facilities. It has been main- tained that this could be due to insufficient knowledge of oral care among care professionals. Materials and methods: A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all 270 schools in Norway which offered basic education of LTC personnel in 2004/05. Information on theoretical and practical oral care training, scope of oral care in teaching material and curriculum, educational background of the teaching staff and schools opinion regarding adequacy of their training programme was collected. Results: Of the 203 respondents (75% response rate), 188 (participants) included oral care in their educational programme. Approximately two-thirds of the participating schools provided 3 h or more of oral care training and many of the important themes were presented in the textbooks that were recommended. Moreover, the practical exercises performed in practice placement supplemented the knowledge. Conclusion: The results could not confirm that LTC professional’s basic education concerning oral care was inadequate. There may therefore be other explanations for the poor oral hygiene in many LTC facilities. Keywords: curriculum, geriatric nursing, knowledge, oral health. Accepted 16 March 2009 Introduction The elderly care-dependents living in nursing homes in Norway are entitled to receive adequate oral care and the home and its care staff are responsible for this task. However, a national study has revealed that the oral hygiene of the institu- tionalised elderly care-dependent is far from opti- mal 1 . Furthermore, caregivers in long-term care (LTC) facilities in other countries have been found to have insufficient knowledge of oral healthcare issues and to assign low priority to oral care 2–4 . Several authors have also expressed concern over the paucity of oral care training in the basic edu- cation of care professionals 5–8 , and have emphas- ised the need to assess the exact extent of this subject in nursing curricula 9 . The professional groups providing basic care in Norwegian LTC facilities are registered nurses, so- cial educators, auxiliary nurses and care workers. The two former groups receive their training through university colleges (bachelors level), while the training of the two latter groups takes place in community colleges (upper secondary level). The education of registered nurses takes 3 years and they are qualified to observe and assess the pa- tient’s health situation, implement actions as well as evaluating the effectiveness of these actions. They are trained to work in various positions in the health services, but the most frequent workplaces are hospitals and nursing homes. Social educators undergo a 3-year training programme and work in the health and social services, primarily with pa- tients suffering from psychiatric disabilities. Other frequent workplaces are in child care, rehabilita- tion, home-based care, drug-related care, hospitals and nursing homes. The education of auxiliary nurses is vocational and takes 3 years and they are primarily associated with nursing. They assist with the daily needs and total treatment of the patient and their frequent places of employment are hos- pitals, nursing homes, psychiatric institutions and Ó 2009 The Gerodontology Society and John Wiley & Sons A/S, Gerodontology 2010; 27: 121–128 121