We  originally highlighted this review by Terezakis E  et al  at the end of last year, but the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at the University of York has just completed a more in-depth appraisal of the review.

The CRD summary says:-

The authors found that oral health appeared to deteriorate during hospitalisation, especially in intubated patients. Changes included an increase in dental plaque accumulation and in gingival and mucosal inflammation. Due to limitations in the review, particularly the suboptimal quality and heterogeneity of the studies, these conclusions require cautious interpretation.

Go to the full  CRD appraisal

Original Review

Terezakis E, Needleman I, Kumar N, Moles D, Agudo E. The impact of hospitalization on oral health: a systematic review. J Clin Periodontol. 2011 Jul;38(7):628-36. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-051X.2011.01727.x. Epub 2011 Apr 7. Review.PubMed PMID: 21470276.