# Diversity supplement to the U01 project-Care partner assisted intervention to improve oral health for person with mild dementia

> **NIH NIH U01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $202,872

## Abstract

Summary (Abstract) of Parent Grant (1U01DE027512-01) :
Close to 9% of adults age 65 and older in the U.S. have dementia and individuals with dementia have
significantly poorer oral health than cognitively intact older adults. Even individuals with mild dementia are at
higher risk of poor oral health and evidence is strong to suggest that inadequate oral hygiene practices are a
major contributing factor. Maintaining good oral hygiene is a critical step in preventing deterioration of oral
health. A few studies conducted in nursing homes have shown that with routine oral hygiene care, the oral
health of persons with dementia improves notably in a short period of time. Most individuals with mild dementia
live at home where family members (i.e. care partners) provide supervision or assistance with daily activities,
but often neglect oral hygiene. Because care partners play an essential role in supervising and caring for
individuals with mild dementia at home, an intervention with both individuals with mild dementia and their care
partners to improve oral self-care may have long term oral health benefits for the individuals with mild
dementia. Yet, few interventions have addressed oral health problems among older adults in general and
among individuals with mild dementia in particular, and to our knowledge, no oral health interventions have
been conducted among community dwelling individuals with mild dementia. To address this gap in knowledge,
we propose a novel intervention to help care partners learn how to adapt methods for guiding the individuals
with mild dementia in carrying out oral hygiene. Mild dementia is an ideal time to intervene because individuals
with mild dementia still retain sufficient cognitive ability to perform oral hygiene tasks successfully with minimal
assistance. Using the results from a pilot study we conducted, we developed the intervention protocol and
established our multidisciplinary research team (NIDCR 1R34DE023881). The results from our pilot study
provide strong indication that our care partner-assisted intervention will generate positive oral health outcomes.
Our team is ready to implement a U01 randomized control trial (RCT) in New York City and North Carolina.
The intervention includes both a tailored oral care plan and a behavioral component using the Adaptive
Leadership Framework for Chronic Disease that our team introduced to manage symptoms associated with
chronic conditions, such as dementia. The specific aims are to: Aim 1: Evaluate the effectiveness of a care
partner-assisted intervention to improve oral hygiene and oral hygiene behaviors in individuals with mild
dementia. Aim 2: Assess changes in mediating factors/process outcomes, including communication between
the dyads, oral health knowledge, and self-efficacy for both individuals with mild dementia and care partners to
understand mechanisms of the intervention. This innovative care partner-assisted oral care behavior
intervention will assist IMD and ca...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10076282
- **Project number:** 3U01DE027512-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** RUTH A ANDERSON
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $202,872
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-09-21 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10076282

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10076282, Diversity supplement to the U01 project-Care partner assisted intervention to improve oral health for person with mild dementia (3U01DE027512-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10076282. Licensed CC0.

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