In collaboration with colleagues from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, these investigators have determined that daily toothbrushing in hospitalized patients significantly reduces the incidence of hospital-acquired pneumonia, particularly among those on mechanical ventilation.
After reviewing 15 randomized clinical trials with over 2,700 patients, the team has highlighted an association between daily toothbrushing and lower pneumonia and mortality rates in the ICU. Published in JAMA Internal Medicine, these findings come as a boon to preventative medicine practices in hospitals, where costly equipment and medications are frequently the norm. “The signal that we see here toward lower mortality is striking — it suggests that regular toothbrushing in the hospital may save lives,” Dr. Michael Klompas, an infectious disease physician at the Brigham, told Harvard Gazette.
The thorough systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by the research team scoured various databases to compare the effect of toothbrushing versus no toothbrushing on the incidence of hospital-acquired pneumonia and other patient outcomes. With the findings indicating a clear benefit, daily toothbrushing is now associated with a lower risk for hospital-acquired pneumonia and a decrease in mortality rates within the ICU setting. Furthermore, patients in the ICU who received regular tooth brushing experienced fewer days of mechanical ventilation and had shorter ICU stays.
While most of the research reviewed pertained to adult ICU patients, only two of the studies considered non-ventilated patients' responses to toothbrushing. The Harvard team is hopeful that the protective effects observed in their study will extend beyond the ICU environment, citing a pressing need for further research in the area. The findings from our study emphasize the importance of implementing an oral health routine that includes toothbrushing for hospitalized patients,” Dr. Klompas emphasized in the Harvard Gazette. The team recommends that if a patient is unable to brush their teeth, a care team member should assist.
