A new study has found that oral hygiene training lowers the risk of pneumonia in nursing homes, one of the most common causes of morbidity and death in the elderly.
The team of researchers evaluated the effectiveness of its Mouth Care Without a Battle staff training program implemented in various nursing homes. After participating in the study for about a year, nursing homes that implemented the program had up to 31 percent reduction in pneumonia cases compared to nursing homes that did not use the program.
Although several studies had shown that mouth care was linked to a lower risk of pneumonia, this was the first study to evaluate the effect of a mouth care program (involving tooth brushing, flossing, and mouth care) provided by nursing home staff and the risk of pneumonia among patients. Many nursing home patients have dementia, which causes them to resist care.
Most elderly persons in Africa are cared for by relatives at home. While this study focused on nursing home residents, it is reasonable to expect the same benefit of oral hygiene in our elderly in Africa.
Read more here – http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2020/june/first-of-its-kind-unc-study-finds-oral-hygiene-training-can-significantly-reduce-pneumonia-in-nursing-homes
