Article

Because the oral hygiene is poorly prioritized in the immediate
post-stroke period, we implemented an oral hygiene care program (OHCP) for stroke
in-patients and evaluated its persistence after discharge. METHOD: In all, 62
patients with stroke who were admitted to the rehabilitation ward were randomly
assigned to two groups: 33 patients to the intervention group and 29 to the
control group. The OHCP, including tooth brushing education and professional
tooth cleaning, was administered to the intervention group twice a week six times
during in-hospital rehabilitation. Oral health status was examined both at
baseline and three months after discharge from the hospital. Oral hygiene status
was examined at three- to four-day intervals five times during the
hospitalization period. RESULTS: After OHCP, oral hygiene status including the
plaque index, calculus index, and O'Leary plaque index improved significantly in
the intervention group, compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In the
intervention group, after administration of the OHCP for the fourth time, the
O'Leary index improved significantly, and remained high when checked three months
after discharge (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: An OHCP conducted during in-hospital
rehabilitation was effective in improving oral health and plaque control
performance among patients with stroke, with effects still seen three months
after discharge from the hospital. Implications for Rehabilitation Initial oral
hygiene status and plaque control performance were poor in stroke patients who
were in rehabilitation center. An oral hygiene care program during in-hospital
rehabilitation was effective in improving oral hygiene status and plaque control
performance among stroke patients at three months after discharge. Repeated tooth
brushing education and professional tooth cleaning were necessary to improve
plaque control performance of stroke patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS