A new study suggests that daily toothbrushing may reduce the risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia in hospitalized patients.
- Brushing your teeth is linked to lower rates of pneumonia in hospitalized patients, according to a new study.
- Brushing teeth is also associated with a lower risk of ICU mortality, shorter duration of mechanical ventilation, and shorter ICU length of stay.
- For researchers, brushing your teeth could be an effective and inexpensive way to fight nosocomial pneumonia.
Nosocomial pneumonia is the infection nosocomial most common and most deadly. This pulmonary infection, which develops at least 48 hours after hospitalization, affects approximately 1% of hospitalized patients. The solution to reduce the risks of contracting it during your stay in a health establishment? Brush your teeth every day, according to work published in JAMA Internal Medicine on December 18, 2023.
Brushing your teeth in the hospital: lower risk of nosocomial pneumonia
For this study, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute re-examined 15 randomized clinical trials. They covered an effective population of 2,786 hospitalized patients, comparing their health with the oral care provided during their hospital stay. Analyzes show that toothbrushing was associated with a significantly lower risk of acquiring nosocomial pneumonia and death in intensive care.
This protective effect was stronger in patients on respiratory assistance. A brushing of daily teeth allowed to avoid one case of pneumonia for every 12 patients on mechanical ventilation. For their part, adults in intensive care whose teeth were brushed benefited from shorter stays and fewer days on a ventilator. The results were similar whether teeth were brushed two, three or four times a day.
Brushing your teeth: a gesture to include in hospital care
To the scientists behind the study, their findings suggest that toothbrushing should be considered an essential component of standard care in hospitalized patients.
“The signal we see here toward lower mortality is striking: it suggests that regular tooth brushing in hospital can save lives”explains author Dr. Michael Klompas in a communicated, “It is rare in the world of hospital preventive medicine to find something like this that is both effective and inexpensive. Instead of a new device or drug, our study indicates that something as simple as brushing your teeth can make a big difference.”.
“We hope our research will help catalyze policies and programs to ensure hospitalized patients brush their teeth regularly. If a patient cannot complete the task themselves, we recommend assistance from a member of the patient’s care team.”adds the expert.
