The Impact of Systematic Oral Care on Oral Health Status in Patients of Intensive Care Units

Oral care is one of the main aspects of nursing care in intensive care units which not only helps the patient to feel comfortable but also prevents serious complications such as ventilator-dependent pneumonia. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a systematic oral care program on oral health in patients of intensive care unit.

This study was a randomized clinical trial performed on 76 patients in intensive care units in 2017. They were randomly assigned to the control and intervention group. In addition to routine oral care, a 5-day systematic oral care program including brushing, chlorhexidine solution, mouth moisturizing gel, and Vaseline was performed for the intervention group. Oral health evaluated in both groups during five days of study. Data were collected using a demographic and Beck Oral Assessment Scale and then analyzed using SPSS ver16.

There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in Beck Oral Assessment Scale in the first to third days, but after the third day, the oral health status of the intervention group was significantly better than the control group (p<0.05).

According to the findings, oral care program is effective in improving oral health. The application of the proposed program in the current study is simple and guarantees minimal oral care for ICU patients