WeCare oral kit outperforms artificial saliva in salivary flow and oral health

Critically ill patients frequently develop xerostomia and hyposalivation due to clinical instability and medical interventions. These conditions impair oral health, increase discomfort, and may contribute to infectious complications. Although artificial saliva is commonly used to reduce oral dryness, no standardized oral care strategy has been established for this population.

To compare the effectiveness of a structured oral care intervention (WeCare oral care kit) with artificial saliva in improving salivary function, oral health, and oral comfort in patients hospitalized in intensive care and step-down units.

This randomized clinical trial included 82 patients allocated to the WeCare group (n = 44) or the artificial saliva group (n = 38). Outcomes were assessed at baseline (T0) and after five oral care interventions (T1). Primary outcomes included salivary volume and flow, oral dryness, oral comfort assessed by a six-domain questionnaire, and oral health status evaluated using the Bedside Oral Exam (BOE).

The artificial saliva group demonstrated limited benefits, with significant improvements only in oral dryness (p = 0.028) and psychological comfort (p = 0.039). The WeCare group exhibited significant improvements in salivary volume and flow, oral dryness, and total BOE score (p < 0.001 for all), with improvements in five of eight BOE domains. Oral comfort improved in five of six questionnaire domains (domains 1-3 and 5-6).

The WeCare oral care kit provided broader and more consistent clinical benefits than artificial saliva, demonstrating superior effectiveness in improving salivary function, oral health, and patient-reported oral comfort.

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07555444, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07555444.