Table 1.

Association with designation

S. No.	Questions	Responses	Nursing officer	Staff nurse	χ2	p-value
1	Recommended material used for oral care hygiene maintenance in ICU patients	Simple suction	6	3	16.802	0.002
		Tap water	8	2
		Plain saline	89	27
		Chlorhexidine	6	1
		Toothbrush	1	7
2	Is toothbrush recommended for maintenance of oral hygiene in ICU patients?	No	42	8	4.364	0.037
		Yes	68	32
3	Frequency of toothbrushing performed by nursing staff for each ICU patients daily	Once	26	12	0.737	0.864
		Twice	56	19
		After every meal	17	6
		Not daily	11	3
4	Duration of toothbrushing performed by nursing staff for each ICU patient	3–4 minutes	46	13	8.762	0.033
		1–2 minutes	53	16
		5 minutes	3	1
		Not sure	8	10
5	Pooling of saliva in the mouth for intubated ICU patients leads to increased incidence of microbial growth. This can be controlled by	(A) Suctioning of oral fluids regularly	46	10	6.865	0.032
		(B) Using cotton swabs to absorb	10	1
		Both (A) and (B)	54	29
		Not required	0	0
6	Oral hygiene tools required in an ICU setup for oral hygiene maintenance	Toothbrush	8	3	0.022	0.989
		Gauze + tongue depressor	40	15
		Mouth rinse	0	0
		All	62	22
7	Recommended toothpaste for children with teeth should contain	Fluoride	62	22	2.080	0.353
		Sodium chloride	43	18
		Sodium bicarbonate	0	0
		Don't know	5	0
8	Recommended oral rinse for ICU patients	0.12% Chlorhexidine	101	33	2.673	0.102
		Plain water	9	7
		Betadine	0	0
		Hydrogen	0	0
		Don't know	0	0
9	Ideal handwashing practice to be followed by nursing staff in ICU	Precontact handwashing with tap water and soap	0	0	0.408	0.523
		Pre- and post-contact handwashing with tap water and soap	42	13
		Pre- and post-contact handwashing with tap water and soap followed by alcohol rub	68	27
		Handwashing is not needed	0	0
10	Denture hygiene of geriatric ICU patients comprises	Removal of dentures at night and cleaning it once a day	11	6	2.108	0.349
		Removal of denture during sleep and cleaning it preferably after every meal	95	34
		No need for removal of denture from the mouth and external cleaning	4	0
		Intraoral cleaning with appropriate tools is sufficient	0	0
11	Where do you store personalized oral hygiene tools for ICU patients?	(A) Personalized air-tight containers	53	14	2.920	0.404
		(B) Along with their other personal belongings	27	10
		(A) or (B)	30	16
		Does not matter	0	0
12	Maintenance of oral hygiene in infants before eruption of teeth in a pediatric ICU is done by	(A) Cotton swab to clean the gums	75	24	1.923	0.382
		(B) Small soft toothbrush	0	0
		Both (A) and (B)	33	16
		No supporting cleaning required	2	0
13	Did you receive assessment and provision of comprehensive oral care for ICU patients in basic nursing training?	No	6	1	0.576	0.448
		Yes	104	39
14	What is the ideal patient position for performing oral hygiene care in an unconscious ICU adult patient?	Position the patient in the supine position	6	2	1.488	0.475
		Position the patient in the prone position	0	0
		Position the patient in the lateral decubitus	69	21
		Position the patient in elevated supine position	35	17
		Any position	0	0
15	Do you think oral hygiene maintenance is necessary for ICU patients?	Yes	110	40	–	–
		No	0	0
16	Doctor's instruction for oral hygiene care documented in the checklist and your necessary documentation/record for the oral hygiene procedures will improve the practice of oral care by nursing staff	Yes	110	40	–	–
		No	0	0
17	Will the presence of a dental surgeon in the ICU will help in proper maintenance of oral hygiene in ICU patient?	No	10	5	0.379	0.538
		Yes	100	35