title: Nosocomial pneumonia and oral health.
abstract: This article will critically review the evidence linking pneumonia to the aspiration of microbe-laden oropharyngeal secretions and tie that to the predisposition for these processes to affect dependent, medically compromised individuals. The goal of this review is to alert the reader to the role that oral disease and oral health play in fostering and preventing, respectively, widespread and potentially fatal pulmonary disease among high-risk individuals.
authors.affiliation: Veterans Integrated Service Network #11, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. kenneth.shay@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shay
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Scannapieco
authors.forename: Margaret S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Terpenning
authors.forename: Barbara J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: George W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*