Translating evidence into nursing practice: oral hygiene for care dependent adults

Abstract

This evidence-based project heightened nurses' awareness and knowledge on oral care, and led to nurses providing practices based on best available evidence. These have translated to improvements in patients' oral health.

The Bedside Oral Exam and the Barrow Oral Care Protocol: Translating evidence-based oral care into practice

“…Promoting and maintaining the oral health of critically ill patients can be accomplished through a comprehensive oral care protocol using a bedside assessment tool (Chan et al, 2011). Oral hygiene interventions have been reported to reduce the incidence of VAP (Scannapieco et al, 2003).…”

Effects of Chlorhexidine Solution Formula on Oral Health Status and Occurrence of Ventilator -Associated Pneumonia among Intubated Intensive Care Unit Patients

“…Chlorhexidine is a biguanide antiseptic and disinfectant that is bactericidal or bacteriostatic against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Lansford et al, 2007) (15) . Sterile distilled water is useful for cleaning the teeth, gums and preventing xerostomia so, its recommended mouthwash which is not damaging to the oral mucosa and safe to use (Mori et al, 2006) (16) also use of glycerin mouthwash decreased the sensation of a dry mouth (Chan et al,2011) (22) . This formula provided successful distribution and stability of chlorhexidine gluconate in mouth wash solution (Sharma and Kaur,2012) (23) .…”

“…In the same line Awad, (2007) (33) revealed that normal saline group faced problems of oral health than chlorhexidine group and get best results in improving oral health status, removes debris, plaque and prevents gingival bleeding. Chan et al, (2011) (22) added that although normal saline is cost effective, but such use has not been thoroughly tested. Normal saline has limited use as a mouth rinse due to its tendency to cause dryness and ineffectiveness in removing hardened mucus, debris or crusts from the mouth.…”

Effects of oral hygiene programme and home phone counselling for hepatitis C patients receiving antiviral treatment

“…Previous studies have stated that ideal oral hygiene must include: (a) brushing teeth after meals at least twice daily; (b) using dental floss at least once a day, especially before bedtime; (c) undergoing dental checkups and scaling; and (d) avoiding betel nut chewing, smoking, and alcohol drinking (American Dental Association, [ADA], ; National Health Insurance [NHI], ; Taiwan Oral Health Care Association, ). Most studies related to oral health have focused on vulnerable groups, such as people with mental illness, in intensive care units, in rehabilitation and with disabilities; older people; and people with cancer (Chan, Lee, Poh, Ng, & Prabhakaran, ; Danckert, Ryan, Plummer, & Williams, ; Liu et al., ; Saito et al., ). Given the lack of studies on oral hygiene among HCV carriers during AVT, this study explores whether the standard oral hygiene programme (OHP), combined with home phone counselling for HCV patients receiving AVT, could improve their oral health behaviours, oral health status, and completion rate of treatment.…”

“…Among these top global causes of death is hepatitis C virus (HCV), a leading cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (WHO, 2017a,b). In addition, 70%-80% are chronic carriers; 20% develop liver cirrhosis; and 3%-5% experience liver cancer (CDC, 2017). HCV infection also increases the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis and ischaemic heart disease (Liu, Lin, & Hwu, 2014).…”