Nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and current practice of daily oral hygiene care to patients on acute aged care wards in two Australian hospitals.

This study aimed to identify nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and current practice in relation to oral hygiene (OH) by means of a questionnaire. It was conducted on the aged care wards of two acute tertiary referral hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. We found that 74% of nurses have a set OH practice. Fifty-four percent of nurses learn their OH practice at university or TAFE. The main nurse qualification is a registered nurse (72%). Denture cleaning, toothbrushing, and swabbing the mouth with a toothette are the main OH practices. Nurses (99%) considered OH to be important. The main barriers to conducting OH practices were patient behaviors, lack of time and staff, and patient physical difficulties. Nurses considered OH important however patient behaviors impact on their ability to undertake the task. Education institutions and hospitals should consider the joint development of a formal OH procedure and training package that can be used on acute geriatric care wards.