Assessment of oral health of patients using inhalers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

This descriptive study was conducted to assess the oral health of patients using inhalers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sixty-one patients diagnosed with COPD who applied to the chest diseases outpatient clinic and clinic of a state hospital in Gaziantep province between December 2023 and January 2024 and met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. The minimum sample size required, determined by power analysis (alpha = 0.05 and power = 0.80), was 52; the study was completed with 61 patients.The sample size was identified by power analysis (alpha = 0.05 and power = 0.80). The data of this descriptive study were collected through the face-to-face interview method using a questionnaire and the Oral Assessment Guide (OAG), for which validity and reliability were tested. The score of the oral assessment guide ranged from 8 points to 24 points, with a low score indicating good oral health and a high score indicating poor oral health. Before starting the study, the institutional permission from the institution, consents from patients, and the ethics committee approval were obtained. Shapiro Wilk test, t test, Analysis of Variance, and, for small subgroups, the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to evaluate the data. The value of p < 0.05 was considered as significant. The findings of the study revealed that 68.85% of the patients were male, 49.18% were aged between 57 and 69 years, 88.52% were married, and 68.85% had a primary school education or higher. Regarding inhaler device type, most patients used a combination of devices, most commonly Metered-Dose Inhaler (MDI) + Nebuliser (26.23%) and MDI + Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) + Nebuliser (26.23%); no significant relationship was found between device type and OAG score (H = 8.054, p = 0.234). In addition, 88.52% of them did not brush their teeth regularly, 93.44% were not trained on oral health by healthcare personnel (doctor, nurse, dentist) before using inhaled medications, 95.08% did not periodically assess their oral health, and 62.3% had no oral health practices (gargling with water, etc.) after using inhaled medications. The mean score of the patients on the Oral Assessment Guide was 13.73 ± 2.30. The mean score of the patients on the Oral Assessment Guide was found to be at a moderate level; a significant difference was observed between the Oral Assessment Guide scores and the practices of regular tooth brushing and periodic oral health assessment. Considering these results, it may be recommended that COPD patients using inhalers should be informed about oral health before, during, and after treatment, and studies evaluating the correlation between the inhaler use and oral health should be conducted. This study was an observational, cross-sectional study and did not involve any clinical intervention or trial registration. Therefore, a clinical trial registration number is not applicable.