Checklists for Clinical Nursing Skills

137

SKILL 7-2 Assisting the patient with oral care (continued)

Comments

Excellent

Satisfactory

Needs practice

12. Assist the patient to floss their teeth, if appropriate: (a) Remove approximately 15 cm of dental floss from the container or use a plastic floss holder. Wrap the floss around your index fingers, keeping about 3–5 cm of floss taut between your fingers. (b) Insert the floss gently between the patient’s teeth, moving it back and forth downwards to the gums. (c) Move the floss up and down, first on one side of a tooth and then on the other side, until the surfaces of all teeth are clean. Repeat in the spaces between all teeth. (d) Instruct the patient to rinse their mouth well with water after flossing. 13. Offer mouthwash if the patient prefers. 14. Offer lip balm or petroleum jelly. 15. Assist the patient to a comfortable position. 16. Remove used PPE/equipment and dispose of them in the appropriate receptacle. 17. Perform hand hygiene. 18. Replace clean equipment in the appropriate storage area. 19. Document in the patient’s chart and report any abnormal results to a senior nurse, medical officer or endorsed nurse practitioner immediately.

____ ____ ____

____ ____ ____

____ ____ ____

____ ____ ____

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

Copyright © 2014 by Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Checklists for Clinical Nursing Skills by Louise Sparkes, Jennifer Bassett and Elisabeth Jacob.