Brushing your teeth in hospital could reduce the chance of catching pneumonia
You go to the hospital for treatment and to get better. But sometimes, you get something much less welcome: an infection.
Jun 9, 2026
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Therapeutic or Preventive Procedure: Toothbrushing
Medical news and research articles
Improving oral care more than halves hospital-acquired pneumonia risk, major trial finds
A landmark trial presented at ESCMID Global 2026 shows that improving oral hygiene for hospital patients can reduce the risk of non-ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) by 60%.
Apr 19, 2026
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Sugar starts corroding your teeth within seconds. Here's how to protect your pearly whites from decay
Between Halloween candy, Thanksgiving pies and holiday cookies, the end of the year is often packed with opportunities to consume sugar. But what happens in your mouth during those first minutes and hours after eating those ...
Dec 2, 2025
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Oil pulling for oral health: To swish or not to swish?
After scrolling social media, you might be tempted to ditch your typical oral care regimen in favor of melted coconut oil, or other similar oils, for a practice known as oil pulling. A method of traditional Ayurvedic medicine ...
Aug 1, 2024
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Toothbrushing and hospital infection prevention Q&A
Rupak Datta, MD, Ph.D., MPH, is an assistant professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and an assistant hospital epidemiologist in the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System. His ...
Jan 17, 2024
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Daily toothbrushing tied to lower rates of pneumonia among hospitalized patients
Researchers have found an inexpensive tool that may help reduce rates of pneumonia for hospitalized patients—and it comes with bristles on one end.
Dec 18, 2023
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California kids have among the worst teeth in US
Priscilla Serrano did everything she could to keep her child's teeth clean and healthy. She rubbed his gums twice a day with a finger brush when he was three months old. She brought him to the dentist before his first birthday. ...
Oct 30, 2023
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New pediatric dental database removes access barriers to information
A new interactive dashboard, allowing open access exploration of oral health-related data from multiple national children cohort surveys, has been developed by researchers at the Dublin Dental University Hospital, Trinity ...
May 24, 2023
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