Failure to Arrange Timely Dental Care for Resident with Ongoing Tooth Pain
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to ensure that a resident with moderate cognitive impairment and a history of mouth or facial pain received timely assistance in scheduling a dental appointment after reporting broken teeth and intermittent toothache. The resident's care plan indicated the presence of missing or broken teeth and a need for staff assistance with oral care. Despite multiple documented complaints of tooth pain, requests for pain medication, and visible swelling of the face, there was no evidence in the progress notes that staff attempted to schedule a dental appointment for the resident during the review period. Interviews with facility staff revealed that the social worker, who was responsible for arranging dental appointments, was aware of the resident's dental complaints for about a month but had not met with the resident or attempted to schedule an appointment. The DON and administrator both confirmed that the social worker was responsible for this task and expressed that an attempt to schedule a dental appointment should have been made. The facility also lacked a policy for dental care and services, and the resident's physician expected staff to arrange for dental care following reports of tooth pain.