Pneumonia incidence and oral health management by dental hygienists in long-term care facilities: A 1-year prospective multicentre cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the association between oral health management (OHM) by dental hygienists and the occurrence of pneumonia, and determine the effectiveness of OHM in pneumonia prevention.

Background: In long-term care facilities in Japan, the need for professional OHM is increasing with an increase in the number of severely debilitated residents.

Materials And Methods: A 1-year prospective multicentre cohort study was conducted using data from 504 residents (63 men; mean age: 87.