A study on the effects of short‐, medium‐ and long‐term professional oral care in elderly persons requiring long‐term nursing care at a chronic or maintenance stage of illness

Abstract

It is necessary to continue professional oral care at intervals of 1 week for 12 consecutive weeks and at intervals of 2 weeks for more than 20 weeks. The oral hygiene state could be improved by professional intervention at intervals of three or four weeks in long-term oral care, but this was limited to subjects whose Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores were higher than 3.

The Association Between Oral Microorgansims and Aspiration Pneumonia in the Institutionalized Elderly: Review and Recommendations

“…To further define POC and clarify the optimum frequency with which it should be delivered, Ueda et al [36] conducted a study of 105 nursing home patients. Of these patients, 55 were positive for oral Candida, which can be related to a number of possible factors, including poor oral hygiene, systemic malnutrition as opportunistic infection, or a fall in host resistance.…”

The effects of power toothbrushing on periodontal inflammation in a Canadian nursing home population: A randomized controlled trial

“…Numerous NH studies having successful outcomes employed oral health professionals to deliver a variety of interventions primarily involving a combination of brushing and periodontal debridement . While perhaps ideal, these interventions are difficult to implement in the vast majority of NHs, for both human resource and financial reasons.…”

Changes in Oral Microflora and Host Defences with Advanced Age

“…102 In an elderly population oral hygiene standards are low and regarded as a major caries predisposing factor that can lead to higher ratios of decayed tooth surfaces and the development of low-pH niches that favour the growth of yeasts and higher numbers of mutans streptococci. 69,[103][104][105][106] Poor denture cleanliness has also been reported to correlate with high levels of yeasts and denture stomatitis. 104,107 Increased carriage of Gram-negative bacilli in the hospitalized elderly has also been demonstrated.…”