Prevalence of oral hygiene tools amongst hospitalised elders: A cross‐sectional survey

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of various oral hygiene tools amongst hospitalised elders and to associate their cognitive status with the prevalence of tools and oral hygiene status. Materials and method Elderly hospitalised participants were included in the study and underwent a brief clinical intra‐oral examination. A semi‐structured questionnaire evaluated the awareness and personal possession of the various oral hygiene tools. Participants’ personal information and various clinical parameters including DMF (T) index, plaque index, CPITN index, denture plaque and calculus index were collected. Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were retrieved from the medical records. Linear regression models were applied for statistical analyses (P < 0.05). Results A total of 100 hospitalised elders (age = 84.5 ± 6.9 years; ♀ = 72, age = 84.9 ± 7.2 years; ♂ = 28, age = 83.3 ± 5.8 years) participated in this study. Awareness was high for manual toothbrush (100%), electric toothbrush (86%), dental floss (79%), interdental brush (44%), interdental stick (55%) and mouthwash (75%), but was low for tongue scraper (9%), while the prevalence of use was 93%, 17%, 27%, 21%, 29%, 39% and 4%, respectively. Linear regression models revealed plaque scores were lower when more hygiene tools were used by the participants (P = 0.0059). Participants with high MMSE scores had lower plaque scores (P = 0.0004) and possessed more oral hygiene tools (P = 0.0203). Conclusion Poor oral hygiene is often noticed in institutionalised elders and might be related to a lack of knowledge about existing oral hygiene tools. These may help optimising oral hygiene, especially in cognitively impaired elders. Oral hygiene tools should be prescribed according to the patient’s need, functional and cognitive status.

Development of a European consensus from dentists, dental hygienists and physicians on a standard for oral health care in care‐dependent older people: An e‐Delphi study

“…In this study, experts consented that a standard manual toothbrush was a necessary tool for brushing teeth in older persons, rather than electric or sonic toothbrushes. This is in accordance with actual practices of care‐dependent older residents, where manual toothbrushes are known to all and owned by at least 93% of them, while only few (17%) use electric toothbrushes 70 . This might be due to difficulties in operating the on‐switch, which is in many models protected by a waterproof plastic cover, requiring substantial force and skills to handle.…”

“…In order to clean interproximal spaces of LTC residents, experts preferred sticks and brushes over water flossers and dental floss. Despite dental floss being a well‐known tool for cleaning interproximal spaces, only 27% of hospitalised older people use it daily, 21% use interdental brushes and 29% wooden sticks 70 . The lower preference of experts for the use of dental floss in dependent patients is perhaps due to its challenging technique and the size of the interdental space.…”

“…Researchers have shown that there was no significant difference between tongue brushing and tongue scraping techniques in reducing plaque 93 ; thus, any simple tool is useful, according to the experience of the user. The acceptance of tongue cleaning tools seems low, as they may trigger the gag reflex 70 …”

Oral care knowledge, attitude and practice: Caregivers’ survey and observation

“…A literature review on oral care practice in hospitalised patients helped identifying the main themes for the questionnaire 16‐20 . Some questions were adapted from previous tools 16,21,22 .…”

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Oral Health and Oral Care Among Nursing Staff at a Mental Health Hospital in Taif, Saudi Arabia: A Questionnaire-based Study

“…Many studies have been conducted in different countries to assess the oral health knowledge and awareness of care workers, such as Saudi Arabia, 1 Nigeria, 2 Singapore, 3 Taiwan, 4 Sudan, 5 Korea, 6 India, 7 and Sweden. 8 Generally, the results of these studies show a diversity in the knowledge and awareness of care workers, which is due to many different factors including nursing academic programs, 9 attitudes of nurses about oral care of hospitalised patients, 10 regular education courses, and policies implemented by healthcare providers. 11 Academic programs in nursing have gaps in the knowledge they provide their students on oral healthcare procedures for hospitalized patients.…”