Cedar Hill Nursing Home: Oral Care Neglect Cited - OH
ZANESVILLE, OH. The certified nursing assistant assigned to care for Resident #54 at Continuing Healthcare at Cedar Hill did not know, until a federal inspector asked her directly, that the man had no teeth.
She found out during the interview. That was when she looked in his mouth for the first time.
The inspection, completed November 26, 2025, was triggered by a complaint. What investigators found was not a single lapse by one employee, but a gap that ran straight through the facility's written policy: Cedar Hill had no procedure at all for caring for the mouths of residents who had lost their natural teeth.
The aide, identified in inspection records as CNA #177, told investigators that oral hygiene care was supposed to be part of Resident #54's morning routine. She said she did not know why there were no oral hygiene supplies in his room. There was no toothbrush. No toothpaste. No mouthwash. Nothing.
When inspectors asked about mouthwash specifically, CNA #177 said she could get a bottle for him to use. The implication was plain: she hadn't gotten one before, and nobody had flagged that as a problem.
Edentulous is the clinical term for a person with no remaining natural teeth. It is not an unusual condition in a nursing home population. Gums still harbor bacteria. Mouths still develop sores, infections, and odor without regular cleaning. The absence of teeth does not eliminate the need for oral care — it changes what that care looks like.
Cedar Hill's oral hygiene policy, updated as recently as November 5, 2024, did not reflect that. Inspectors reviewed the document and found it addressed residents who had their own teeth and residents who wore dentures. It said nothing about residents who had neither. No protocol. No guidance. No mention that this population existed.
The policy stated, in its own language, that the facility "recognized the importance of good oral hygiene practice to cleanse mouth, teeth, and dentures" and that care was to be provided to prevent infection, irritation, periodontal disease, and odors. The word "edentulous" appeared nowhere in it.
A policy updated seven months before the inspection still had this hole in it.
CNA #177's account did not suggest she was indifferent to Resident #54's care. It suggested she was working from a framework that had never told her what to do for someone in his situation. She knew oral hygiene was part of morning care. She did not know what that meant for a man with no teeth, and the facility's written guidance offered her no answer.
The deficiency was cited under Tag F0677, which covers basic personal hygiene and grooming. Inspectors rated the level of harm as minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting few residents. The violation was logged under Complaint Intake Number 2665757.
Cedar Hill sits at 1136 Adair Avenue in Zanesville. The facility's plan of correction was not included in the inspection documents reviewed.
What the record shows is a resident whose mouth went uncleaned, a nursing assistant who learned the basic facts of his condition only when an investigator prompted her to look, and a policy that was revised less than a year ago and still said nothing about the people it left out.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Continuing Healthcare At Cedar Hill from 2025-11-26 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: August 21, 2026 · Our methodology
CONTINUING HEALTHCARE AT CEDAR HILL in ZANESVILLE, OH was cited for neglect violations during a health inspection on November 26, 2025.
She found out during the interview.
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.