There’s a connection between intensive outpatient treatment and oral health, and it comes
down to the services that are offered by the right providers when the patient has underlying
issues that need to be addressed. These issues can include anything from substance use to
mental health ailments, and it’s important to ensure the patient is receiving well-rounded care
that treats them as holistically as possible. Once these criteria are met, the patient will have
much greater chances of full recovery and benefit the most from their outpatient treatment
while it’s ongoing and after it ends.
Poor oral health can lead to worsening health in many intensive outpatient treatment patients,
and, once that happens, it can then lead to worsening mental health that will work against the
treatment they’re receiving. The right facility will be able to offer support that will work to
reduce substance use, improve nutrition, improve their hygiene, and connect them with the
dental care they require to improve their mental health. This will all lead to a better quality of
life and will help in reducing relapses, which will keep the patient healthy and happy moving
forward with their lives.
Integrated Care Model
The main way the right outpatient program supports the patient’s oral health is through an
integrated care model that addresses all underlying problems by addressing their causes at the
same time to help break their cycles. Substance use and abuse can have a large impact on oral
health by drying saliva and causing tooth decay, with the patient often unaware of why their
teeth are decaying. There is also a focus on mental health, which leads to poor self-care and
compounds the issues they are already facing before and during their treatment.
This is achieved using interdisciplinary teams of caregivers, with each professional focusing on a
different part of the patient’s treatment at the same time, allowing them to treat the whole
person at once. Therapists are allowed to treat the patient’s mental health in a way that
provides positive results in their outlook and gives them ways of addressing problems, rather
than letting them grow and have bigger impacts. Dieticians ensure the patient is receiving the
proper nutrients for good oral health while their dental hygiene is addressed consistently to
arm them with the drive and knowledge to care for their teeth.
Patient Self-Care
To help patients make better choices during and after their treatment, a focus on self-care gives
them education and information about addiction that they can use for the rest of their lives
with the hope of continued recovery. This leads to patients with better nutrition and healthier
outlooks on their lives, as well as improving their oral hygiene and making them feel better,
overall, when it comes to their physical and mental health. Without these important steps,
relapsing into poor nutrition and hygiene, as well as addiction and oral health, would be a risk
once their treatment ends.
This focus on overall physical and mental health results in reducing barriers to prevent them
from practicing good oral hygiene, as well as seeking out the care it takes from dental
professionals to keep their mouth healthy. Isolation and poor self-esteem are major factors in
leading patients to the habits that have been deteriorating their teeth and causing the oral
health problems that have been plaguing them, and sending them further into substance abuse
and poor decision making. By treating that isolation and poor self-esteem, the right program
will have higher success rates with its patients on a regular basis.
Choosing the Right Program
There are several factors to look at when it comes to choosing the right program, so it makes
sense to find one that offers every possibility of treating the patient as a whole person to give
them the best chances of recovery. Outpatient care means the person must be able to maintain
his or her daily life, so the program should be able to provide care in a flexible manner to offer
the best chances of healing. The therapy should still be intensive enough to offer healing and
education for the patient to take with them.
No matter which program a person chooses, knowing that their oral health will improve and
that they’ll be equipped with everything they need to focus on their self-care and hygiene will
help their mental health at the same time. Untreated dental issues can lead to intense pain,
infections, and decay, which makes recovery more difficult and worsens their mental health,
which can be an avoidable side effect with the right program. Oral health problems should
never be ignored, no matter what their underlying factors, so finding the help the patient needs
should be the highest priority that they and their loved ones have for them.
Recent Comments