Return on investment in oral health services should not be entirely based on economic criteria. Measuring an outcome is never easy, but must include a narrative about the quality of life and well being.  Good health is central to improving outcomes, and good oral health is a key part of that. The lack of consistency of provision of integrated approach to wellbeing is shown by the neglect of oral health in primary and secondary health services.

For the purposes of this short post, the focus will be on the economic return of investment in oral health for the elderly, specifically in acute /secondary care. It is our hope that dental care professionals are able to start a 'conversation' on how best to evaluate/measure the outcome of investing in oral health, and facilitate shared learning across main stream health services.  Investing in care models  such as  Mouth Care Matters(MCM) produced important data that should be evaluated and shared with NHS Trusts.

These are some of the highlight of a recent report on the cost benefits analysis of the Mouth Care Matters programme:

 For the full Report click here.

 Mouth Care Matters(MCM) is well established across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

This video highlights important aspects for training and shared learning from  Mouth Care Matters.