Antimicrobial effect of protocols with chlorhexidine digluconate solutions for hygiene of complete dentures in hospitalized patients

Abstract

There is a clear association between oral and systemic diseases and, specifically in relation to removable dentures, it has been suggested that denture biofilm is considered a reservoir of respiratory pathogens, increasing the risks to the development of aspiration pneumonia, especially in situations of patient debilitation, such as during hospitalization. Thus, in order to minimize the risks of respiratory infections via prostheses, reducing the time and costs of hospitalization, it is fundamental to adopt a hygiene protocol for the removal of denture biofilm when the patient is hospitalized. The 2% chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX) was shown to be a chemical agent of effective in vivo and in vitro antimicrobial action against pathogens on the denture bases. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate, in hospitalized patients, the efficacy of hygiene protocols for maxillary complete denture (MCD) using CLX solution as well to compare them with procedures commonly used for the control and inactivation of the denture biofilm. For this, 20 MCD of hospitalized subjects in a hospital in the city of Bauru, Brazil (Hospital de Base de Bauru), will be randomly submitted to one of the following protocols (n = 10 each): BRU/DT-brushing of the denture with dentifrice for 2 min; BRU/SOA - brushing for 2 min with liquid hand soap; CHX-immersion of PTS in 150 mL of 2% CLX for 10 min; ESC+CHX- brushing of the denture with sterile distilled water for 2 min followed by immersion in 150 mL of 2% CLX for 10 min. After submission to the protocols, the MCS will be immersed in sterile distilled water for 3 min to rinse the products. Quantitative mycological cultures will be obtained with oral swab rubbed for 1 min on the inner surface of the MCD before and after the submission to the proposed methods in order to evaluate their effectiveness. Then, aliquots of 25 ¼L of the serial dilutions obtained (10-1 to 10-9) will be plated on blood agar and, after 48 h at 37°C (5% CO2), the viable colonies will be counted. Data (CFU/mL) will be analyzed by the most appropriate statistical methods at a significance level of 5%.