From Pilot Project to Lasting Impact: Dignity Health’s ICU Oral Care Story
What can happen when an innovative oral health idea gets the support it needs to get started?
For Dignity Health Foundation – East Valley, a DTA Foundation-funded pilot became the beginning of something much bigger.
What started as an effort to bring dental hygienists directly into the intensive care unit at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center has continued for years, expanded into healthcare workforce education, attracted additional funding and is now helping the organization explore how oral care could become a more integrated part of hospital care.
Bringing Oral Health Into the ICU
Patients with advanced airways can be especially vulnerable to oral health challenges and infection-related complications. Yet providing thorough oral care in an ICU environment can be difficult.
Dignity Health saw an opportunity to approach the problem differently.
With support from the DTA Foundation, registered dental hygienists integrated into the medical and trauma intensive care units at Dignity Health Chandler Regional. They provided enhanced oral care approximately every 12 hours, including toothbrushing, tongue cleaning, and moisturizing, while working alongside the hospital’s existing care team.
The goal was not only to provide care, but also to study its impact and strengthen oral health knowledge among ICU nurses.
An Idea Shows Its Potential
During the 68-day study in 2019, three dental hygienists provided care to 129 patients and bedside education to 74 ICU nurses.
Among the 102 patients included in the comparative analysis, Dignity Health researchers found a statistically significant 4.04% improvement in bedside oral exam scores from the initial to the final exam.
The impact also extended to the hospital workforce. Nurse surveys indicated improvements in self-reported oral care knowledge and shifts toward more thorough, evidence-based oral care practices.
But perhaps one of the clearest signs that the project was resonating came as the pilot was ending: the medical team wanted it to continue.
That response helped inspire partnerships with local dental hygiene education programs, bringing students into the ICU for clinical rotations and exposing future dental professionals to the connection between oral and overall health.
As the Dignity Health team put it in its final report, “This project is the beginning of something bigger.”
And It Was Just the Beginning
Dental hygienists have maintained a presence in Chandler Regional’s ICU since 2019, while Dignity Health has expanded relationships with local dental hygiene education programs.
Then, in 2024, the project reached another major milestone.
Dignity Health secured additional funding from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health for a three-year follow-up research project. The new study examines the impact of integrating dental hygienists into the hospital medical team, including effects on patient oral health, nurse knowledge and practices, hospital-acquired infections, and potential cost savings.
Data collection included 1,046 patients and 11,410 total encounters, illustrating how significantly the work has expanded since the original DTA Foundation-funded pilot.
Most recently, Dignity Health Foundation – East Valley was announced as a 2026 DTA Foundation grant recipient. This DTA Foundation grant will offer continued support to Dignity Health’s mission of advancing oral health in the hospital setting. The new project will build on this progress by developing a standards-based curriculum, video lectures and simulations designed to give dental hygienists the skills needed to pursue emerging hospital-based career pathways.
The project will also create hospital oral care training modules and scenario-based assessments, career ladders for dental hygienists, and employer toolkits for hospital HR departments that include job descriptions, orientation materials, workflows and competency checklists. Together, these resources aim to help address a long-standing gap in inpatient care by strengthening the prevention of oral inflammation, pneumonia, and other oral health-related complications among hospitalized patients.
The Impact Behind the Numbers
This work’s significance is best understood through the experience of patients.
For example, an ICU patient was intubated for airway support and received enhanced oral care from the critical care dental hygiene team.
After patients are extubated, they sometimes struggle to speak. In this scenario, a dental hygienist conducted a follow-up assessment and found that dried blood and secretions were completely blocking the airway.
Working with the patient’s speech therapist, nurse, and physicians, the dental hygienist continued enhanced oral care and recommended keeping the tissues moisturized. By working together, the collaborative care team cleared the blockage without an invasive medical procedure or tissue damage, and the patient regained the ability to communicate verbally.
Experiences like this offer a powerful example of why Dignity Health continues to explore the role oral health can play in overall hospital care.
Creating Change That Lasts
Today, Dignity Health is looking beyond a single hospital or study.
The long-term goal is to demonstrate the program’s benefits for both patients and hospitals and identify a sustainable financial model that could allow it to expand across a larger hospital system.
The team also hopes its findings can contribute to conversations about hospital policy and reimbursement for inpatient oral care provided by dental hygienists.
At the same time, the project continues to create opportunities for future healthcare professionals to experience the connection between oral and overall health firsthand.
It is a powerful progression: from pilot projects to a continued program to workforce development to additional research and the possibility of broader change.
What a DTA Foundation Grant Can Start
The DTA Foundation invests in innovative projects that can improve oral health and access to care. Dignity Health Foundation – East Valley offers a powerful example of what can happen when an idea is given the opportunity to grow.
Initial DTA Foundation support helped Dignity Health test a new approach to integrating oral care into the ICU. Years later, that work continues to reach patients, educate healthcare professionals, attract new investment, and explore sustainable models for integrated hospital-based oral care.
Dignity Health shared its gratitude for that early support, saying it provided an opportunity to “blaze new trails, improve integrated care, and make a positive impact in health outcomes for patients in critical condition.”
As another DTA Foundation grant application cycle comes to a close, Dignity Health’s story reminds us that a grant’s impact doesn’t necessarily end when the grant period does.
Sometimes, it is only the beginning.
Do You Have or Know of a Project That Can Make a Difference?
The DTA Foundation is currently accepting grant applications for projects that have the potential to improve oral health, expand access to care and create lasting impact.
If you have an innovative idea — or know of an organization doing meaningful work in oral health — we encourage you to learn more and apply.
Applications are due November 30.