Based on one study with a small number of stroke survivors, providing oral care training for carers in a nursing home setting improves their knowledge of and attitudes towards the provision of oral care. In turn, residents' dentures were cleaner, though other oral hygiene measures did not change. Further evidence relating to oral care interventions is severely lacking, in particular with reference to care in hospital for those following stroke.

This study extends the current knowledge of patients' views of their treatment outcomes, which may be important in helping dietitians devise appropriate patient-centred outcome measures. However, as this is a small sample, further long term research into a wider range of current and discharged patients' views is required.

The response rate was excellent and has provided a national overview of oral care provision for patients in stroke care settings. Access to staff training, assessments, protocols and oral hygiene material varied considerably. This information provides a valuable baseline from which to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of ward-based oral care interventions for stroke patients.

Although there were a number of surveys relating to the prevalence of geographical tongue, herpes labialis and oral ulcers in children and adolescents, reported prevalences varied and few studies were directly comparable in terms of the methodology applied. In particular, there was substantial variation between surveys in terms of the diagnostic criteria and method of detection employed although, in many instances, there was inadequate detail to allow full appraisal of the methodology. There is a need for more good-quality epidemiological studies in this area.