Brushing teeth properly is vital, research shows

Brushing your teeth twice a day is important, we all know. But for intensive care patients, it can be vital, according to new research from Harvard. With good oral hygiene, you can prevent all kinds of misery.

In particular, researchers found that patients who brushed their teeth daily were much less likely to contract pneumonia in the hospital. The effect of brushing teeth was particularly significant in people who were on a ventilator and unable to keep their own teeth clean.

Intestinal bacteria

In addition, the breathing tube can also cause problems. Certain passages in your body are open, allowing bacteria to swarm around, says Diederik Gommers, department head of Intensive Care at Erasmus MC. "Because you are lying flat with a tube in your mouth, intestinal bacteria can get into your lungs and cause pneumonia."

Moreover, patients who are in the ICU already have a weakened immune system. "So they already have a hard time," says Gommers. "If they get pneumonia, then they will have an even harder time and they will be in the intensive care unit even longer."

Antibiotic

That is why in Dutch hospitals they are already very focused on keeping the mouth clean properly, says the chairman. "In the Netherlands, we give a certain antibiotic to keep the mouth very clean. But it is also very important to brush the teeth properly."

Smaller chance of death

The Harvard study found a significantly lower risk of pneumonia in ICU patients with good oral care. For those on a ventilator, the risk was as much as 30 percent lower. For normal hospital patients, it also decreased significantly, by 15 percent.

For ICU patients, the risk of death also decreases significantly with good oral hygiene, by one-fifth. Patients who brush their teeth properly also spend less time on the ventilator and less time in intensive care.

Good oral hygiene is important for overall health anyway. "For example, there is an interaction between infections in the mouth and diabetes," explains dentist Koen den Brok. "That also applies to cardiovascular disease."

"People are often not bothered, yet sometimes there are inflammations in the mouth that have serious consequences," says Den Brok. "If someone is going to receive radiation or chemo, they should first visit the dentist to check for inflammation in the mouth."

Prevention is better than cure

So Den Brok wants to emphasize the importance of seeing the dentist regularly. A semi-annual checkup can be preventive. "This allows us to be there in time. And that prevents a whole lot of misery."

Source: Edition NL