The impact of hospitalization on dental plaque accumulation: an observational study.

Aim To investigate the effect of hospitalization on oral health as assessed by dental plaque. Materials and Methods Observational study in a critical care unit ( CCU). Participants were recruited within 24 h of admission. Dental plaque amount was assessed at baseline, 1 and 2 weeks using the Debris index-soft deposits (Greene & Vermillion 1960). Results Fifty participants were recruited with 36 available for outcome assessment at 1 week and 10 at 2 weeks. The principal reason for losses was early discharge with no evidence of a difference between patients present only at baseline and those present at 1 week. The median value for dental plaque at baseline was 4 (95% CI: 4, 6). The median dental plaque increase from baseline to week 1 was 1.5 (95% CI: −1, 4), and this was statistically significant ( p = 0.04). The median increase from week 1 to week 2 was 1.0 (95% CI −8, 6) and not statistically significant ( p = 0.68). Conclusions Oral health as assessed by dental plaque deteriorates following hospitalization in CCU. Such change could lead to impairment of quality of life and well-being as well as to increasing the risk of important healthcare-associated infections such as nosocomial pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]