Reading Skills for Healthcare Workers

When Mr. Sanders wakes up in the morning, his teeth and mouth don’t feel clean. He wants to brush his teeth. His nursing assistant Paul helps him with his mouth care. Making sure that Mr. Sanders maintains healthy mouth care is part of Paul’s job. If people don’t have good mouth care, bacteria will grow in their mouths. Plaque will grow on the teeth. It is easy to get bad breath and cavities without proper mouth care.

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Paul helps Mr. Sanders put the toothpaste on his toothbrush. Mr. Sanders can brush his own teeth. Paul straightens up Mr. Sanders’s room while Mr. Sanders brushes. When Mr. Sanders is finished brushing, he asks for Paul’s help with using mouthwash. The cap on the mouthwash is difficult to open. Paul opens the cap, pours a small cupful of mouthwash, and watches as Mr. Sanders swishes the mouthwash around in his mouth. The mouthwash gives Mr. Sanders a clean feeling and a minty taste in his mouth. Mr. Sanders always feels better after tending to his mouth care.

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Mr. Sanders takes medication that makes his mouth dry. He drinks water throughout the day to make his mouth feel moist. He often brushes his teeth after lunch too.

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Paul helps Mr. Sanders with his mouth care in the evening. After Mr. Sanders brushes his teeth, Paul hands him a foot-long length of dental floss. Mr. Sanders wraps the dental floss around his two middle fingers and flosses his teeth. If he has trouble, Paul helps him. They both know that flossing once a day is important to prevent tartar from building up near the gums. Tartar can cause infection in the body.  Mr. Sanders uses mouthwash again before he goes to bed.

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Mr. Sanders uses toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash every day to keep his mouth healthy.