As our population continues to age it is important that that we remove the barriers which discourage our elderly patients from seeking routine dental care. Given the high prevalence of treatable dental disease in the older population, the importance of dental screening for both free living and institutionalised elders cannot be overemphasised. In fact, Poulsen et al. have recently recommended that oral examinations should be part of routine hospital admission procedures for geriatric patients.15 The importance of dental care is often underestimated within the overall medical care for our frail elders and a more holistic approach must be encouraged. Oral health must be considered within overall patient management and integrated into more wide reaching public healthcare policy as recommended by the World Health Organisation. In addition, provision of care should be encouraged within the primary healthcare setting where it can be delivered by family practitioners working in practice.