Polaris Healthcare: Dental Care Delayed Over a Year - DE
The resident, identified in inspection records only as R6, was admitted to the facility in September 2023. By July 2024, a dental progress note recorded that she wanted her bottom teeth extracted and full dentures made. A treatment plan was written up: new upper and lower dentures, extractions of the bottom teeth.
That was thirteen months ago.
The notes kept coming. In December 2024, another dental progress note documented that she again said she wanted the lower teeth extracted and full dentures made. In March 2025, an exam note recorded the same request. In April 2025, another exam note showed she had been seen again, this time reviewed for extractions.
On August 7, inspectors sat with the resident and asked about her teeth. She told them she has four teeth left on the bottom and has been asking to have them pulled for over a year. She said she wanted dentures. Inspectors looked in her mouth and confirmed it: four remaining teeth on the lower front. Then the resident showed them something. She pushed one of the four teeth forward with her finger, demonstrating how far it moves because it is loose.
The unit secretary, interviewed the following morning, said the dental team is capable of performing extractions inside the facility and that the dental team was due to visit on August 29. She said she understood that the resident wanted the extractions done. She also said she had no idea whether the resident was actually scheduled for them.
She wasn't.
The dental company's own scheduler, interviewed that same morning, confirmed it. The August 29 appointment was not for extractions. It was for a new dentist to conduct an initial exam with the resident.
An initial exam. After more than a year of documented requests. After four separate clinical notes recording the same ask. After an inspection where the resident sat across from a federal inspector and moved a loose tooth with her finger.
The facility's nursing home administrator confirmed the delay on August 11, the final day of the inspection, telling inspectors there had been a delay in the resident's teeth extraction and in starting her denture process. That conversation happened at 1:30 in the afternoon. Two hours later, at the exit meeting, the administrator was joined by two regional representatives, and inspectors reviewed the findings with all three of them.
Federal inspectors cited the facility for failing to ensure the resident received dental services. The violation was classified as causing minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting few residents. One resident was sampled for dental services. The failure applied to her.
The inspection was filed as a complaint, meaning someone had raised a concern about care at the facility before inspectors arrived.
What the record shows is a resident who knew what she needed, said so repeatedly, had it written down by dental staff repeatedly, and still could not get it done. The loose tooth she pushed forward for inspectors on August 7 had presumably been loose before that morning. The next time a dentist comes to Polaris Healthcare, the plan, as of the inspection, is for that dentist to meet her for the first time.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Polaris Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center from 2025-08-11 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Download the official CMS inspection PDF from Medicare.gov
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
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Last verified: November 3, 2026 · Our methodology
POLARIS HEALTHCARE AND REHABILITATION CENTER in MILFORD, DE was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 11, 2025.
The resident, identified in inspection records only as R6, was admitted to the facility in September 2023.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.