Abstract
As members of the Nutrition Support Team (NST) at Tokushima University Medical and Dental Hospital, we have worked on professional oral care (POC) with our inpatients. Also, we started bedside POC with inpatients after studying their health and nutrient intake. This led us to have a closer working relation with ward staff and improve the oral care provided by nurses during their routine work. The results of the first oral examination of 43 inpatients we have included so far showed that the percentage of oral problems such as tongue coating, debris, dental plaque, calculus, expectoration, dry mouth, and bad breath were considerably high. Many of these oral conditions were thought to be related to the patients' physical conditions. After POC, however, improvements in patients' oral conditions were noted in more than 50 percent of the cases. Consequently, it can be said that the POC provided by the NST has not only improved the oral hygiene condition of patients but also nurtured closer working relations among departmental staff in the hospital.
