Sir, I work as a dental nurse in the local maxillofacial department and am writing to tell you about a novel approach to pain relief that I developed with a member of my family and to ask if there are any dentists with an interest in the care of the elderly who might be able to undertake a pilot study involving the technique.

My mother recently passed away having been nursed by myself and siblings at home after she had been discharged at our request from a nursing home.

She had severe thrush in her mouth with limited pain relief due to the fact her mouth was too sore to take her medication. One day my mother asked for an ice lolly and I came up with a plan to administer the medication for her thrush on the end of the ice lolly. From that day on she never looked back, her thrush started to clear up and she then let me put her dentures into and out of her mouth.

During the last weeks of her life she was pain free and comfortable mainly due to the fact we could give her pain relief liquids on the ice lolly. I appreciate that it was not possible to accurately measure the dose of the medication with this technique but it certainly improved the quality of her life.

The dental care of the elderly is often overlooked in hospitals and nursing homes and patients may be left in pain when a simple solution such as the one described for my mother could be easily implemented.