Effectiveness of supervised implementation of an oral health care guideline in care homes; a single-blinded cluster randomized controlled trial

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a supervised implementation of the "Oral health care Guideline for Older people in Long-term care Institutions" (OGOLI) in The Netherlands. A sample of 12 care homes in the Netherlands was allocated randomly to an intervention or control group. While the residents in the control group received oral health care as before, the intervention consisted of a supervised implementation of the OGOLI. At baseline, the overall random sample comprised 342 residents, 52 % in the intervention group and 48 % in the control group. At 6 months, significant differences were observed between the intervention and the control group for mean dental as well as denture plaque, with a beneficial effect for the intervention group. The multilevel mixed-model analyses conducted with the plaque scores at 6 months as outcome variables showed that the reduction by the intervention was only significant for denture plaque. Supervised implementation of the OGOLI was more effective than non-supervised implementation in terms of reducing mean plaque scores at 6 months. However, the multilevel mixed-model analysis could not exclusively explain the reduction of mean dental plaque scores by the intervention. A supervised implementation of an oral health care guideline improves oral health of care home residents