title: Oral health status in patients with acquired brain injury: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To undertake a systematic review of the current knowledge and future perspectives regarding the status of various oral health factors, including social and behavioral aspects, in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI).
  
  
  METHODS
  A structured search strategy was applied to PubMed, Embase, and Scopus electronic databases until January 2016 to identify studies presenting assessments of the oral health status of patients afflicted with any kind of ABI. The search strategy was restricted to English-language publications that enrolled patients aged more than 18 years. Studies on the association of oral health conditions and brain injury were excluded. No study was excluded based on its qualitative analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 27 studies were reviewed. Stroke was the most commonly studied ABI. Stroke patients had a higher number of missing teeth, poorer plaque and gingival index scores, and higher colonization of Candida albicans in saliva, all of which were significantly reduced after intervention. Oral health-related quality of life was poorer in patients compared to the general population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Stroke was the most predominant brain injury condition studied in the literature, with few publications focusing on other forms of brain injury. Overall, oral health has been noted to be poor in patients with ABI, but oral hygiene and oral health-related quality of life have been found to improve when oral hygiene interventions are provided to patients.
authors.affiliation: Hammel Neurorehabilitation Centre and University Research Clinic, Aarhus University, Hammel, Denmark. Electronic address: mohkot@rm.dk.
authors.forename: Mohit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kothari
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Institute of Odontology and Oral Health, Aarhus University, Hammel, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rajath Sasidharan
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Pillai
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Institute of Odontology and Oral Health, Aarhus University, Hammel, Denmark.
authors.forename: Simple Futarmal
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Kothari
authors.affiliation: Section of Oral Radiology, Institute of Odontology and Oral Health, Aarhus University, Denmark.
authors.forename: Rubens
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Spin-Neto
authors.affiliation: Section of Oral Rehabiliation, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Sweden.
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Hammel Neurorehabilitation Centre and University Research Clinic, Aarhus University, Hammel, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jørgen Feldbæk
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Nielsen
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D009909:Oral Health; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors