Abstract
Purpose: 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.
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.
Implications for Rehabilitation
Disclosure statement
The authors declare that they do not have a conflict of interest.
Funding
This research was supported by the Yeungnam University research grants in 2015.