Oral Health and Vitamin D in Stroke Patients

Stroke is a common, serious and restrictive global health problem. Restricting the activities of daily living of stroke patients impairs patients' ability to pay attention to oral hygiene. Facial paresis and tongue weakness due to stroke may cause a decrease in the control of dental prostheses and the removal of food residues in the oral cavity. Food residues and saliva contaminated with bacteria as a result of poor oral hygiene can result in pneumonia when aspirated due to oropharyngeal dysphagia. In the literature, it has been shown that there are significant relationships between periodontal health and vitamin D and calcium intake, and that dietary supplementation with calcium and vitamin D can improve periodontal health, increase bone mineral density in the mandible, and inhibit alveolar bone resorption. In line with all these data, our hypothesis in this study is to investigate the relationship between oral health and vitamin D levels in stroke patients in rehabilitation units.