I was searching for ways to prevent pneumonia and found this study. I never thought about oral hygiene and pneumonia being linked together.
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Recent studies have found that poor oral hygiene may foster the colonization of the oropharynx by potential respiratory pathogens in mechanically-ventilated (MV), intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Thus, improvements in oral hygiene in MV-ICU patients may prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

The specific aims of this investigation are: 1) to organize the necessary infrastructure to develop and perform a pilot clinical trial to evaluate alternative oral hygiene procedures to prevent VAP; 2) to use this organization to perform a pilot clinical trial to determine if the use of oral topical chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) will prevent dental plaque, oropharyngeal colonization by respiratory pathogens, and VAP in MV-ICU patients.

Study Phase Phase II

More info here:
ClinicalTrials.gov
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00123123?