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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Oral Biofilm Sampling for Microbiome Analysis in Healthy Children
Published on: December 31, 2017
Effect of oral hygiene programmes on oral opportunistic pathogens during stroke rehabilitation
Ruoxi Dai1,2, Otto L T Lam3, Edward C M Lo1
1Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Objectives:
This study was to assess the effectiveness of a conventional oral hygiene care programme (COHCP) and an advanced oral hygiene care programme (AOHCP) on prevalence and viable counts of oral opportunistic pathogens among patients undergoing stroke rehabilitation.
Methods:
A total of 94 patients were randomized to two groups. Subjects were block randomized to either (a) COHCP: manual toothbrushing with oral hygiene instruction (OHI); or (b) AOHCP: powered toothbrushing, mouthrinsing with chlorhexidine and OHI. Prevalence and viable counts of oral opportunistic pathogens including yeasts, aerobic and facultative anaerobic gram-negative bacilli, Staphylococcus aureus, were assessed at baseline, the end of 3 and 6 months.
Results:
No significant difference was observed in the prevalence of oral opportunistic pathogens within each group over the clinical trial period. A significant decrease in the viable counts of S. aureus was found over the clinical trial period within AOHCP group (p < 0.05), while the viable counts of yeasts and anaerobic gram-negative bacillus (AGNB) remained stable within each group. Regression analysis failed to detect an association between intervention and the prevalence/viable counts of oral opportunistic pathogens.
Conclusions:
Neither oral healthcare programme significantly affects AGNB, yeast or S. aureus over the study period in terms of prevalence and viable counts.
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