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Patients who remain in hospitals for extended periods of time may have something else to worry about.
New studies show that a person’s dental health declines during prolonged periods in the hospital. The information indicates that oral diseases, such as gingivitis, are even seen in some cases. To be more specific, when people are hospitalized for any kind of breathing issue, that’s when the numbers of declining dental health are at their highest.
The research for the study was conducted in four countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France. Five studies were combined to generate this information, and all of the data was similar.
The decline of oral health during long stays makes sense because a person is in the hospital for a specific condition that takes priority over all other health issues. When this happens, proper oral health measures aren’t the main worry. Another cause for this may be a lack of equipment and tools available to maintain oral health the way it should be maintained.
More hospitals need to be aware of these issues and take the proper steps to make sure that the patients can take of their oral health the way they would if they were home. Family members of the patient may have to take the initiative to take care of the patient’s oral health now before the proper measures are in place at some point in the future.
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