Abstract:

Background and aim: Oral health in patients in need of intensive care is considered extremely important as it can improve the health and clinical outcomes of these patients. One of the main duties of nurses in Intensive Care Units (ICU) is to provide oral hygiene to patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of Salvadora persica chewing stick (miswak) and chlorhexidine mouthwash on the oral health of patients  hospitalized in ICU.
Materials and Methods: This clinical trial study was performed on 70 patients admitted to the intensive care unit of Khatam Hospital who had endotracheal intubation and no sensitivity to herbal compounds in the age range of 18 to 65 years in spring 2019. Patients with inclusion criteria were selected by convenience sampling and were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (miswak) and control (chlorhexidine). Data collection tools were demographic checklist and oral health assessment checklist which were completed through interviews and observations. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22 and independent t-test.
Results: The patients in both intervention and control groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics. There was no significant difference between the oral health status of patients in the first day (P = 0.2), but in the second to fourth day, the patients in the intervention group received significantly higher scores on oral health than the control group. The miswak group improved significantly; in other words, the effect of miswak on oral health was more than chlorhexidine mouthwash.
Conclusion: By comparing the efficacy of Salvadora persica and chlorhexidine mouthwash on the oral health status of patients, it was revealed that Salvadora persica was more effective in promoting oral health than chlorhexidine mouthwash. Therefore, due to the advantages of herbal compounds, Salvadora persica can be a suitable alternative for chlorhexidine.