Abstract
Many investigations have shown that oral hygiene is inadequate in most nursing homes for the aged. The purpose of this study was to investigate the methods of oral hygiene used by the nursing staff to maintain proper dental and denture hygiene among residents. A questionnaire was mailed to 110 staff in 11 nursing homes for aged (9 in Saitama and 2 in Tokyo), and 100 replied, 15 males and 85 females. They had worked in nursing homes for 5.7 years on average. They answered questions on the time and methods applied by the nursing staff to clean the residents' natural teeth and dentures.
The results were as follows:
1. All staff replied that dentures were cleaned by the nursing staff every day. The most frequent time for denture cleaning was “after supper.”
2. Of 100 staff, 94 used a toothbrush or a denture brush when they cleaned residents' dentures. Sixty-four used a denture cleaner. Fifty-eight used both a denture cleaner and a brush. Forty cleaned residents' dentures with toothpaste and brush.
3. Ninety-six replied that natural teeth were cleaned by the nursing staff every day. The most frequent time for natural teeth cleaning was “after supper.”
4. Ninety-five used a toothbrush when they cleaned residents' natural teeth. Fifty-one cleaned them with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Special equipment, such as interdental brushes and dental floss, was rarely used.
5. Individual denture brushes and individual toothbrushes were not always available for daily oral and denture care. In fact, the same brush was sometimes used for more than one resident's oral hygiene. These findings demonstrate that the staff of nursing homes for the aged need professional training to achieve effective daily oral hygiene. The staff's current oral hygiene habits are liable to lead residents to catching infections such as hepatitis virus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Therefore, the staff should be made aware of therisk ofinfection from daily oral hygiene procedures. Measures for facilitating oral hygiene and methods of improving it are necessary to reduce the burden of providing it.
