Correlations between dental assistance/oral health and clinical intercurrences in an end-stage kidney disease patients: a historical cohort study.

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to correlate the self-report oral health, oral hygiene and dental assistance with clinic intercurrences with hospitalization in adults in End-Stage Kidney Disease patients.

Methods: Seventy-seven patients were interviewed during dialysis therapy concerning their self-report oral health, oral hygiene habits and available dental assistance. Clinical intercurrences were assessed in clinical records. Pearson correlations and linear regression tests were applied for statistical analysis.

Results: There was a strong negative correlation between the number of brushing times/day and patient hospitalization; there was a negative correlation between oral health and patient hospitalization, there was a positive correlation between the number of teeth in the mouth and oral diseases.

Conclusions: The study shows an important correlation between oral health, oral hygiene habits, dental assistance and clinical intercurrences with hospitalization in dialysis patients. The results are weighty to establish protocols that can, directly improve, critical health outcomes of end-stage kidney disease patients under dialysis treatment.