Lack of toothbrushing for seniors in nursing homes is a serious health risk

Elderly people in nursing homes often go without a good toothbrushing.

While it might be icky to imagine the horrible way that feels to the oldsters, there are consequences worse than grossness. The mouth and other parts of the oral cavity are a gateway into the body, allowing bacteria inside our bodies that can cause serious disease.

This lack of basic care is big issue for seniors in nursing homes, who number about 1.3 million. It is an example of serious challenges that these facilities face in keeping people healthy. One recent study published in Special Care in Dentistry in 2017 found that only 10.3% of patients admitted to a nursing home over a five-year period utilized dental services within the home at least once during their stay.

A recent investigation by The New York Times into a fatal fungus in nursing homes highlighted one specific difficulty of patients in nursing homes, bringing their plight to the forefront. Even so, it's not exactly captured the attention of the presidential candidates.

I am a dentist and periodontist also trained in microbiology. About 30 years ago, I began to investigate how bacteria in the mouth could affect overall health. My colleagues and I determined, for example, that bacteria that cause pneumonia likely first stick to teeth before being aspirated, or inhaled, into the lungs, especially in vulnerable patients such as those who are intubated in intensive care units or who reside in nursing homes. In one study, we found that the bacteria cultured from the lungs of hospitalized patients with diagnosed pneumonia were identical to those cultured from the teeth of the same patients.

Regards

Baijnath Paswan | Program ManagerDental Forum 2020 | Conferenceseries llc ltdEmail : dentalhealth@globalconferenceseries.net | Contact no: +44 20 360 82897