Oral Care and Conditions in Hospitalized Elderly People – Integrative Review

Abstract

Through an integrative review, the objective of this article was to answer a question: what are the conditions and oral care in hospitalized elderly patients? We used 6 main databases and obtained 1051 articles, of which 78 met the inclusion criteria. Conclusions: there is a high prevalence of oral problems in the hospitalized elderly population; poor oral health is not an isolated health problem – it is related to pneumonia, sarcopenia, poor nutrition, and quality of life; oral hygiene protocols in daycare routines improve oral conditions and quality of life and integrating dentistry into medical screening: hospitalization offers a privileged opportunity to identify and correct oral problems and promote oral health.