The Effect of Oral Care on Bacterial Colonization in the Oral Mucosa of Non-Mechanically Ventilated Patients with Stroke

Introduction. Stroke impairs the patient’s activities of daily living, including oral care, with the deficits (motor, perceptual, and cognitive) it causes. These limitations adversely affect oral health by limiting the patient’s ability to perform self-care tasks such as oral cleaning and tooth brushing. Aim. It was aimed to examine the effect of oral care on bacterial colonization in the oral mucosa of non-mechanically ventilated patients with stroke. Material and Methods. The study was conducted with 42 non-mechanically ventilated patients (21 experimental, 21 control) hospitalized in a neurology intensive care unit in Istanbul. The standardized oral care protocol was applied three times a day to the patients randomized to the experimental group. Oral care was applied to the control group according to the routine practice of the clinic. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were recorded at admission, and the oral mucosa was evaluated for oral health and bacterial colonization at baseline and at the end of the fifth day. Our paper adheres to the CONSORT guidelines. Results. The experimental and control groups were found to be similar in terms of sociodemographic, clinical, and oral health characteristics before the intervention. At the end of the intervention, bacterial count, microorganism diversity, and the mean scores of the Oral Assessment Scale were lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. When each group was compared within itself before and after the intervention, there was no change in the control group. However, a significant improvement was detected in the bacterial count, microorganism diversity, and the mean scores of the Oral Assessment Scale in the experimental group. Conclusions. These results support that applying the standardized oral care protocol is effective on bacterial colonization in the oral mucosa. (JNNN 2025;14(2):51–60)