ORAL HEALTH IN ICU PATIENTS

Abstract

Introduction: The intensive care unit are geared to take care of the patients in critical conditions and this requires attention in every level of assistance. The oral health care has shown efficiency in pathogens control at these patients and systematic protocols are important to prove how effective it  is. Objective: The objectives of this study were to review the literature on narrative Dental Hospital ICU and a systematic review about Brazilian publications on the topic. Methods: We selected studies on Dental Hospital ICU published between 2006 and 2013 in Brazil. The databases used for tracking items were LILACS, BBO and SciELO, using the search combining the words “Dentistry”, “Hospital Dentistry” and “ICU”. Results: In the tracking were found 12 articles. On these selected studies, 04 were literature reviews (33%), 02 were case reports (17%) and 06 were cross-sectional studies (50 %). Studies had the intention of show the importance of the presence of the dentist in ICUs. Conclusions: The oral diseases are important sources of worsening systemic and must be prevented and solved by a dentist trained to work in a hospital setting. The protocols of conduct, when used on a large scale, brings benefits both the patient and the hospital, reducing cost escalations that would causes.