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Brushing your teeth twice a day is of course always a good idea, but it seems to be particularly important for hospital patients: among other things, it reduces the risk of pneumonia.
Harvard researchers have shown this. They combined the results of fifteen clinical studies involving a total of more than 2,700 patients and discovered something remarkable: Patients who brushed their teeth daily were significantly less likely to develop pneumonia in the hospital than those who didn’t. The effect was particularly great in people who were connected to a ventilator and were therefore often unable to brush their teeth themselves.
save lives
The researchers were pleasantly surprised that brushing teeth made such a difference. “The signal we see here towards a lower mortality risk is striking. It appears that regular tooth brushing in the hospital can save lives,” says researcher and Harvard professor Michael Klompas. “In the world of preventative medicine, it is rare to find something that is both effective and cost-effective. Rather than a new device or medication, our study shows that something as simple as brushing your teeth can make a big difference.”
Bacteria in your mouth
Patients develop pneumonia in the hospital because bacteria in the mouth enter the respiratory tract and infect the lungs. Patients who are particularly at risk or have weakened immune systems are susceptible to pneumonia in the hospital. Therefore, it is particularly important that they brush their teeth at least daily, preferably twice daily. This reduces the amount of bacteria in the mouth, reducing the risk of lung infection.
The researchers came to this conclusion after an extensive meta-analysis. They used a variety of different databases with data from people around the world and studies from various universities that examined the effect of tooth brushing on the risk of pneumonia and other illnesses that people can get in hospital.
Shorter stay in the intensive care unit
It found that the risk of pneumonia was up to 30 percent lower in ventilated patients and 15 percent lower in regular hospital patients. The probability of dying in the intensive care unit also fell by 20 percent. Additionally, patients who brushed their teeth daily required an average of 1.2 fewer days on a ventilator and spent 1.3 to 2 fewer days in the intensive care unit.
Most studies only examined the effect of tooth brushing in intensive care patients. Only two of the studies examined the effects of a daily brushing routine on patients who were not on a ventilator. Researchers believe that brushing your teeth significantly reduces your risk of inflammation. However, further research must show whether this is actually the case.
New guidelines
In any case, it seems important that hospital patients brush their teeth properly. “The results of our study highlight the importance of establishing an oral health routine, including tooth brushing, in inpatients. We hope this research will help implement policies to ensure hospital patients brush their teeth daily. If a patient cannot do this themselves, we recommend having it done by a healthcare professional,” Klompas added.
It’s special that something as simple as brushing your teeth has such a big impact and is undoubtedly much cheaper than additional medication.
#saves #lives #research