Oral Health and Dental Management

Abstract

Impact of Oral Ingestion on Oral Health Condition in Dysphagic Inpatients

Yoko Tejima, Kayoko Ito, Jin Magara, Takanori Tsujimura, Makoto Inoue

The present preliminary study examined how oral feeding improves the oral health status in dysphagic inpatients. Research suggests that the oral health condition of dysphagic patients is affected by not only oral health care but also oral intake because oral feeding is expected to facilitate salivary secretion and orofacial motor action. Twenty-one dysphagic patients participated in the present study. Clinical data including feeding status, oral health condition, and ingestion-related motor function were collected every week until the patients were discharged from the hospital. All recorded scores were compared between the first and last examination. The correlations among the items were investigated. Feeding status, including intake level and dietary form, was significantly improved. Oral hygiene and tongue coating were also significantly improved, while ingestion-related function was less changed. Oral hygiene, tongue coating, and tongue moisture were significantly improved with improvement in feeding status. A few parameters of the oral health condition were significantly correlated with those of ingestion-related function. Oral resumption may be important to maintain or improve oral health in dysphagic patients, although oral intake does not improve or affect the whole ingestion function in the short term.