Elizabeth’s Story
Elizabeth was an older adult living in a care home with advanced dementia and receiving end-of-life care. A RESPECT plan was in place, and her daughter, who held Lasting Power of Attorney, was closely involved in decisions about her care.
The care home contacted CDS-CIC requesting an urgent domiciliary assessment after becoming concerned about swelling on Elizabeth’s face. She had stopped eating and drinking, and staff and her family were worried that she may be experiencing dental pain or infection.
Recognising the urgency of facial swelling, our domiciliary team visited the care home within 24 hours.
We were able to examine Elizabeth and identified that the swelling was most likely related to her salivary gland rather than a dental problem. Advice was also sought from a specialist colleague to ensure the diagnosis and management plan were appropriate.
Elizabeth was nearing the end of her life and was only intermittently conscious. In line with her documented wishes, her usual medications had been stopped and a decision had already been made that she should remain in the care home rather than be admitted to hospital.
We were able to provide reassurance to both the care home staff and the patient’s daughter, explaining that no further dental intervention was required and supporting the existing plan to keep the patient comfortable in familiar surroundings.
Following the visit, we remained available for further advice and contacted the family to offer follow-up support. Sadly, Elizabeth passed away a short time later.
Her daughter expressed her sincere gratitude for our prompt response and the reassurance and compassionate care we were able to provide during what was an incredibly difficult time.
For the CDS-CIC team, this demonstrates that providing dental care is not always about delivering treatment. Sometimes, the greatest difference comes from listening, offering expert reassurance and helping patients and families make informed decisions that respect a person’s wishes at the end of life. By providing timely domiciliary care, we were able to support both the patient and those caring for her with dignity, compassion and kindness.
To protect patient confidentiality, all patient stories have been anonymised. Any images used are stock photographs for illustrative purposes only and do not depict actual patients.