EuGMS SIG on GERODONTOLOGY

Dear Colleagues,

The EuGMS SIG on Gerodontology is glad to invite you to its open online meeting, that will take place on February 20th, 2025, 16.00-17.00 CET.

The meeting deals with oral health in care-dependent older people that is a very important but neglected topic in geriatrics.

The agenda is as follows:

Webinar:
“Improving oral health in care homes: lessons learned after 25 years of trial, (error), update and restart” (40 minutes, 15 minutes discussion)

Presenters:

Dr Barbara Janssens, Assistant Professor of Gerodontology at Ghent University, Belgium
Dr Lynn Janssens, PhD candidate in Gerodontology at Ghent University, Belgium

Abstract
The oral health of care home residents remains a persistent and complex public health challenge. Over the past 25 years, the Gerodontology research group at Ghent University has been at the forefront of addressing this issue, developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to improve oral health in care homes. This presentation will reflect on lessons learned from past research to envision the future of oral healthcare for care-dependent older adults. Is oral health promotion in care homes enough? How can we better deliver preventive and curative care to care-dependent older adults? What changes are we seeing in residents’ oral health, and how is the healthcare system keeping up? Most importantly, how do the residents themselves experience these efforts? Join us as we explore 25 years of research and share insights into improving oral health for care home residents.
Dr Barbara Janssens BIO : Barbara Janssens is an Assistant Professor of Gerodontology at Ghent University (Belgium). She is also the coordinator of Gerodent, a preventive and curative oral healthcare programme for nursing homes in Belgium that has been recognized as good practice in Europe. In addition, she is working as a general dentist. She obtained her degree in dentistry in 2005 and her PhD in 2017 at Ghent University. Her research interests are on: oral health promotion in long-term care facilities for older adults, oral health services for older adults, and improving oral health of home-dwelling elderly through better interprofessional collaboration. Barbara won the Colgate research award of the European College of Gerodontology (ECG) in 2015 and has published several scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. She currently serves as Associate Editor for the Gerodontology journal, and is the Chair of the young members committee and Councilor at the ECG. She is also the Co-Chair of the Gerodontology Special Interest Group of the European Association of Dental Public Health, and a board member of BENECOMO, the Belgian-Dutch research consortium on oral care for older adults.
Dr Lynn Janssens BIO : Lynn Janssens graduated with a degree in dentistry from Ghent University in 2014, where she developed a strong interest in geriatric oral healthcare. She has been working with Gerodent, a domiciliary dental care programme in care homes, since 2015. She is currently completing a PhD on the oral health of care home residents, focusing on epidemiology and the evaluation of oral health services for care-dependent older adults, with expected completion in February 2025. In 2022, she received the European College of Gerodontology Research Award.

We look forward to meeting many of you online!
Join us!

Be on time, mute your microphone when you're not talking and enjoy this moment with your colleagues! The meeting will not be recorded.

Kind regards,
Co-chairs: Prof. Dr Anastassia Kossioni, Dr Anastasia Koutsouri

CONNECTION DETAILS

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 824 7676 4713
Passcode: Gero2025