ORAL HEALTH IN THE HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT: RELEVANCE, RESISTANCE AND DEVELOPMENTS - LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

The objective of this work was to characterize the actions in the field of Hospital Dentistry, as well as the possible consequences in a reality in which patients have the direct assistance of a dental surgeon during their hospitalization. An integrative literature review was carried out, with the following guiding question “how can oral hygiene contribute to the health conditions of hospitalized patients?”. The search keys were the terms “patients hospitalized”, “ICU” and “dentistry”, using the Boolean operator “and”, in the Scielo and PUBMED databases. Articles published between 2017 and 2022, in English and Portuguese and available in full, were included, and gray literature papers were excluded. After applying the inclusion criteria, 8 articles were selected for qualitative analysis. The presence of a dentist, associated with a constant chemical-mechanical cleaning protocol, using chlorhexidine 0.12%, favors the systemic condition of the hospitalized patient, can reduce the length of hospital stay, and reduces the rates of hospital infections . Factors such as the position of the patient in bed for long periods, especially under mechanical ventilation, can negatively impact the oral health condition, making such patients the preferred customers of dental care during hospitalization. More studies are needed in order to have robust scientific evidence of the cause-effect relationship of oral health  actions on the length of hospital stay and consequent reduction in expenses, in addition to providing greater homogeneity in the oral hygiene protocols of hospitalized patients.