OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of dental treatment in improving oral health in critical patients. METHODS: This randomised clinical trial was conducted in a general intensive care unit (ICU) at a tertiary care public facility from 1 January 2011 to 8 August 2013. Data from 254 adult patients staying in the ICU for 48 hours or more were analysed. The experimental group (n = 127) had access to dental treatment provided by a dentist four to five times a week, in addition to routine oral hygiene, whereas the control group (n = 127) had access only to routine oral hygiene, including topical application of chlorhexidine, provided by the ICU nursing staff. The baseline oral health status of the enrolled patients was poor and included edentulism, caries, gingivitis, periodontitis and residual roots. Dental treatment consisted of toothbrushing, tongue scraping, removal of calculus, scaling and root planing, caries restoration and tooth extraction. RESULTS: The Oral Hygiene Index Simplified (OHI-S) and Gingival Index (GI) scores decreased in the experimental group but did not change significantly in the control group during the ICU stay. Dental treatment prevented most of the episodes of respiratory tract infections, as previously reported. No severe adverse events from the dental treatment were observed. CONCLUSION: From an interprofessional perspective, our results support the idea of including dentists in the ICU team to improve oral health in critical patients and effectively prevent respiratory tract infections, in addition to the improvement achievable by applying chlorhexidine alone.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of dental treatment in improving oral health in critical patients. METHODS: This randomised clinical trial was conducted in a general intensive care unit (ICU) at a tertiary care public facility from 1 January 2011 to 8 August 2013. Data from 254 adult patients staying in the ICU for 48 hours or more were analysed. The experimental group (n = 127) had access to dental treatment provided by a dentist four to five times a week, in addition to routine oral hygiene, whereas the control group (n = 127) had access only to routine oral hygiene, including topical application of chlorhexidine, provided by the ICU nursing staff. The baseline oral health status of the enrolled patients was poor and included edentulism, caries, gingivitis, periodontitis and residual roots. Dental treatment consisted of toothbrushing, tongue scraping, removal of calculus, scaling and root planing, caries restoration and tooth extraction. RESULTS: The Oral Hygiene Index Simplified (OHI-S) and Gingival Index (GI) scores decreased in the experimental group but did not change significantly in the control group during the ICU stay. Dental treatment prevented most of the episodes of respiratory tract infections, as previously reported. No severe adverse events from the dental treatment were observed. CONCLUSION: From an interprofessional perspective, our results support the idea of including dentists in the ICU team to improve oral health in critical patients and effectively prevent respiratory tract infections, in addition to the improvement achievable by applying chlorhexidine alone.
Authors: Teresa Márcia Nascimento de Morais; Antonio da Silva; Ana Luiza Ribeiro de Oliveira Avi; Patrícia Helena Rodrigues de Souza; Elias Knobel; Luiz Fernando Aranha Camargo Journal: Rev Bras Ter Intensiva Date: 2006-12
Authors: Zongdao Shi; Huixu Xie; Ping Wang; Qi Zhang; Yan Wu; E Chen; Linda Ng; Helen V Worthington; Ian Needleman; Susan Furness Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2013-08-13
Authors: Michael Klompas; Kathleen Speck; Michael D Howell; Linda R Greene; Sean M Berenholtz Journal: JAMA Intern Med Date: 2014-05 Impact factor: 21.873
Authors: Ma-I Choi; Sun-Young Han; Hyun-Sun Jeon; Eun-Sil Choi; Seung-Eun Won; Ye-Ji Lee; Chi-Yun Baek; So-Jung Mun Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-05-19 Impact factor: 4.614