Sorrisos Porta em Porta Project – Central Region, promoted by the NGO Mundo A Sorrir, aims to contribute to the improvement of the oral health of the elderly who are in nursing homes, day care and home care in the Central Region of Portugal.
Between 2019 and 2021, the initiative aims to benefit 500 formal caregivers and 1,650 seniors from 25 institutions that provide services to the senior population in the municipalities of Pinhal Interior Norte, namely Arganil, Lousã, Miranda do Corvo, Oliveira do Hospital, Tábua, Vila Nova de Poiares and Penela.
Oral health in third age is often neglected, so professionals who provide support to older people play a key role in promoting oral health habits that enhance their well-being.
In order to increase the technical capacity of caregivers, the project focuses on training activities in the area of hygiene and prevention in oral health in the senior population, directed to formal caregivers, which are direct action assistants, nurses and animators.
“Sorrisos de Porta em Porta Project – Central Region bets on a strategy that aims to contribute to the social inclusion of the elderly through actions that value them, ensure their rights and improve their quality of life,” explained Benedita Duarte, coordinator of the project.
This social response will develop prevention, training and medical-dental care activities. According to the General Directorate of Health (DGS), mouth and tooth diseases have negative consequences on people’s quality of life, and it is necessary to focus on the promotion of oral health in the elderly.
One of the ambitions of the project is to make available to all formal caregivers of the institutions involved a Manual of Good Practice in Oral Health in the Elderly.
Sorrisos de Porta em Porta Project – Central Region, distinguished by the Portugal Inovação Social program, is co-financed 70% by the PO ISE, Portugal 2020 and the European Social Fund of the European Union, and 30% by the Social Investor, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, for a total of 94,867 euros. The initiative is developed in collaboration with the University of Coimbra.
