Nurses' opinions and practices related to oral health and care on people with diabetes mellitus

This study was designed as a descriptive study to determine the views and practices of nurses regarding oral health and care in individuals with diabetes mellitus. The population of the study constituted 300 nurses who had working in The Public Hospitals Association of Bolu Koroglu Hospital, Izzet Baysal State Hospital and Izzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital internal and surgical outpatient clinics, services and intensive care units and it was achieved to 96.3% (n: 289) of the population. The study data were collected using a questionnaire prepared by the researcher using literature. In evaluating the data, frequency and percentage distributions and the chi-square test were used. A majority of nurses participated to the study (94.1%) were often stated that problems such as halitosis (79.6%), infections and delayed wound healing (65.7%), tooth decay (60.9%), and loss of taste (41.2%) might develop in individuals with diabetes. Most of the nurses (81.7%) thought that oral health problems could be prevented providing a good oral hygiene in people with diabetes. It is determined that 72.3% of the nurses assessing the oral health of diabetic individuals, preferred looking at in their mouth, while 17.0% using penlight. There is a statistically significant difference between working year and working unit and frequency of assessing oral health, between educational status and the referral diabetic individuals to dentist, and between working unit and oral health practices method and frequency. As a result, nurses can be support to interventions for protecting and improving diabetic individuals' health by expanding their awareness for problems related to diabetes and oral health.