Reports on Survey
Effect of Using Edible Sesame Oil for Oral Hygiene among Elderly Bedridden Patients with Dysphagia in Nursing Homes
2017 Volume 32 Issue 3 Pages 386-398
Details
2017 Volume 32 Issue 3 Pages 386-398
Elderly bedridden patients with dysphagia have difficulty performing oral health care by themselves. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of an oral hygiene method of using edible sesame oil in elderly bedridden patients with dysphagia in nursing homes.
Using a one-group multicenter before-and-after design, our intervention focused on 13 elderly bedridden patients with dysphagia in nursing homes for a duration of two weeks. Our self-designed oral health care method involved using gauze swabs dipped in edible sesame oil for providing oral health care to the participants.
The evaluation indexes were microbial colony counts for total bacteria, Candida spp., and Pseudomonas spp. from the participantsʼ tongue swabs, oral cavity moisture levels, subjectsʼ cheek mucosal integrity by cytodiagnosis, and assessment of participantsʼ oral health using the Sakota Oral Assessment Scale（SOAS）and the Revised Oral Assessment Guide（ROAG）.
Post-intervention, the total microbial count decreased to －0.56±0.63 log10 CFU/swab（n＝12）（p＝0.010）, and the Candida spp. count changed to －1.55±2.19 log10 CFU/swab（n＝9）（p＝0.066）. Six patientsʼ assessment score improved regarding ‘Tongue’ and ‘Halitosis’, while 3 patientsʼ scores for ‘Lips’ condition, and 2 patientsʼ scores for ‘Saliva’, ‘Mucous membranes’, and ‘Gums’ showed improvement. An improvement in the subjectsʼ cheek mucosal integrity was observed in 11 patients.
In conclusion, the results of our study suggest that using edible sesame oil for oral hygiene could be an effective way to reduce the tongue microbial load among elderly patients with dysphagia.
Further study on the effect of this intervention when applied to a larger patient sample for a longer term is needed.
