One of the important health needs for children is oral health care. The 2011 US Dental Health Project reported that poor dental health among young children is increasing, with 50% of children experience at least one cavity by kindergarten. According to Jill Boylston of the University of Florida’s College of Medicine, it is important to identify effective policies to tackle the prevalent problem of untreated tooth decay which affects children’s overall health and well-being, especially among vulnerable and low-income children. The purpose of our presentation is to report a study by Jo Blevins investigating the level of oral health care provided to hospitalized children on acute care units at a children’s hospital. 14/15
In this study, participants were 49 pediatric nurses and parents of 59 hospitalized children. All participants provided answers to specific questionnaire questions including (1) What type and frequency of oral care activities do pediatric nurses engage in while caring for hospitalized children? (2) Do nurses engaged in collaborative care with an affiliated dental school and dental residents? (3) What are primary caretaker’s perception of the oral care received by their hospitalized children? (4) How often are hospitalized children’s teeth brushed and by whom? (5) Is there a difference in the frequency of tooth brushing at home versus in the hospital? 5/5
According to the parents, 17% of the children brushed their teeth more than once a day, but 60% of these same children brushed more than once a day when at home. According to the nurse respondents, their assessments, interventions, health teaching, and referrals related to oral care are done in frequently. Over 40% of the nurses responded that they do not educate patients about oral hygiene, and 61/2% provide no nutritional education in relation to oral health. The majority had never entered documentation related to broken teeth or cavities, and 85.75 had never advised patients to see a dentist. 4/5
Oral health is integral to overall health and should be attended to whether a child is at home or in the hospital. Oral health care should be a basic part of nursing care while children are hospitalized. The Research on this topics can assist pediatric nurses in providing desired best practices for oral health care in hospitalized children.