This review of existing studies was carried out by the Cochrane Oral Health Group and the evidence is current up to 14 January 2013.
Thirty-five separate research studies were included but only a minority (14%) of the studies were well conducted and described.
All of the studies took place in intensive care units in hospitals. In total there were 5374 participants randomly allocated to treatment.
Participants were critically ill and required assistance from nursing staff for their oral hygiene care. In three of the included studies
participants were children and in the remaining studies only adults participated. Participants had been hospitalised as medical, surgical
or trauma patients. In 13 studies it was not clear which of these three categories the participants belonged to