Background:

Oral health and oral health care are important in the health care of critically ill patients.

Objective:

To provide an overview of the relationship between oral health and adverse outcomes in critically ill patients.

Methodology:

This narrative revision was conducted in Google Scholar, PubMed/Medline and SciELO, with the descriptors oral health, critical care, artificial respiration and ventilator-associated pneumonia consulted in the DeCS. Full-text articles in Spanish and English from peer-reviewed journals and from the last 5 years were selected.

Results:

Dysbiosis and poor oral hygiene promote the incidence and development of oral diseases, which in turn promote the incidence of lower respiratory system diseases such as ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients. Among the factors involved are aspiration of oral secretions with pathogenic bacteria that colonize the lower respiratory tract, and nutritional deficiencies that compromise the immune system. Although there are some discrepancies, most studies support oral care practices in critically ill patients.

Conclusions:

The health and care of the oral cavity is the key to a more favorable outcome for critically ill patients.

        · resumo em Espanhol     · texto em Espanhol     · Espanhol ( pdf )