Tell me how your instructors handled oral care in the lab

[Vtachy1]

Did you practice on each other? Did you practice on a set of dentures or on a model? What works best for you to learn best?

Some of the CNA classes have a dad or an uncle or friend come in and they practice shaving in the lab. Did you do this too? Wondering what the best way is to get the students to feel the most comfortable and how you all did it.

Thanks so much, I always get so much great help from you!

[certifiedna]

We only ever used dentures for denture care. We had to do oral care on each other and no one was allowed to sit out, there was no offer of bringing in friends or family, which I actually think sounds pretty cool!

[NICUlove62]

We had to practice oral care on another which I think is a good thing because it puts you in your resident/patient's shoes-the awkward feeling and sense that you can't do anything. As far as shaving, we pretended to shave a mannequin (with no hair.) I think having a man to practice on would be beneficial because my "practice" was shaving a very nice resident at clinical. It would have been nice to have a true understanding beforehand.

[hookyarnandblanket]

We didn't practice on one another. We were paired on the floor with a seasoned CNA and watched them, then did the next one on our own. Same with denture care and shaving.

[adjappleton]

We practiced oral care in each other and also on dentures. We had 2 men in our class that stressed how important it was to pull the skin taught when shaving, but they were never used for practice. :)

[hookyarnandblanket]

I stand corrected: We practiced oral care but did it on ourselves and we had to rinse with a mouthwash designed to help children develop better oral hygiene: The rinse left a nonpermanent stain on places you missed while brushing.

[Princess Bubblegum]

We practiced just about everything on each other in CNA class, to get a sense of what it's like to have someone else brush your teeth or feed you. It was really a humbling experience that has stuck with me for years.

My CNA instructor was recovering from a recent spinal surgery and she couldn't bend over, so she had us practice shaving on her legs.

[IsmeAmanda, LPN]

We used dentures

But in feeding we did feed each other. I pray to God I'm always able to feed myself.

[rndreams14]

In my course, we used dentures and we practiced mouth care on the mannequin.