Assessing the oral health status of patients hospitalized in intensive care units

Aim: Assessing the oral and systemic health of patients hospitalized in intensive care units. Methods: Cross-sectional study focused on examining the oral health and associated systemic conditions, as well as general data collected from medical records of a convenience sample encompassing 175 critical patients. Procedures were performed by a single examiner for 21 months. Collected data were recorded in individualized forms for further tabulation (Excel software) and descriptive statistical analysis in percentages (R software). Results: Most of the sample comprised white male elderly patients (mean age = 63.2 years) hospitalized for 15 days, on average, who were unconscious (40% were intubated and 27.43% were subjected to tracheostomy), subjected to nasoenteric feeding therapy (73.14%) and who have received support from dental surgeons. The main reasons for hospitalizations were lung diseases (34.31%), associated systemic conditions were pneumonia and respiratory issues (57.71%). Patients subjected to oral hygiene 2 times a day corresponded to 56.57% of the total sample, 72.57% of them presented oral injuries; 80% presented coating on the dorsal surface of the tongue - mean DMFT index was 16.6; 63% of dental prosthesis users (28%) presented unsatisfactory oral hygiene. Conclusion: It is necessary implementing routines to assess the overall oral health condition of ICU patients, as well as developing guidelines focused on preventing oral injuries and on providing clear instructions about the proper way to clean the dorsal surface of the tongue and dental prostheses used by ICU patients.