VULNERABLE elderly people in care homes in Bolton have a better chance of seeing a hairdresser than a dentist, a patients' group has warned.

Healthwatch Bolton rang all of the care homes in the borough to ask what oral health care was on offer for elderly residents — and said their results showed the offer was "pretty desperate".

They found that only 13 per cent of the care homes surveyed in Bolton offered oral health training to their staff — despite 89 per cent of managers saying they would welcome training.

A spokesman for Healthwatch Bolton told the Health and Wellbeing board at Bolton Council that care homes did not know whose responsibility it was to make sure their residents’ teeth were in good health.

He said: “In most cases there wasn’t a plan in place there, and no fixed arrangement with a dental practice — it was done on a case by case basis.

“It was pretty desperate evidence really and we are concerned that dental services don’t meet the needs of people in residential care.

“The care homes don’t have a consistent relationship with the dental services. It is not clear to them who is responsible.

“It’s easier to get a hairdresser than a dentist in a care home.”

A report to the committee said that if left untreated, oral health problems could lead to wider health issues among the elderly population — and in some cases can become so serious that the person needs to be admitted to hospital.

Healthwatch Bolton is now urging the council, care homes and the NHS to work together to make sure enough local dental professionals are made available to offer domiciliary care.

They are already planning a follow-up report within the next 18 months to measure if the situation has improved.

Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing board Cllr Cliff Morris has promised that the findings will be passed to the director of Public Health at Bolton Council.

He added: “We will keep this on the agenda.”

Professor Arup Banerjee, a specialist in geriatric medicine and former medical director at the Royal Bolton Hospital, said he believed bureaucracy and management were the main reasons why elderly people are not receiving proper dental care in residential homes.

He said: “Dentists are reasonable, professional people, and if there can be an arrangement through the council or clinical commissioning group, so that part of contracts to care homes means there is dental care provision — that would be a really helpful thing.

“As someone who has been championing the cause for older people, proper access to NHS dentistry should be made available whether it is in a care or in their own homes.”

Bolton dentist Dr Monik Vasant ‎, owner of Freshdental, which has clinics in Bolton and London, added: "It is really vitally important that the oral health of the elderly is maintained. 

"The risk of tooth decay, gum disease and oral cancer do not go away and in many cases as people's manual dexterity worsens these risks increase. In addition fungal infections associated with poor denture hygiene can be a big risk.

"Elderly patients suffering from dementia may also not be able to communicate that they have pain or problems which results in undue suffering. 

"Many medical conditions can also present with symptoms in the mouth hence why checkups are still as important in the elderly as they are in the young."