My husband developed silent aspiration post radiation treatment. He was a diligent flosser , used an electric toothbrush but that did not stop him from having aspiration pneumonia.

Flossing may mean that the mouth is cleaner than if one wasn’t flossing, but that does not necessarily remove the bacteria that may cause pneumonia. John’s doctor determined he was suffering from pneumonia by doing a culture of his phlegm which found bacteria that were normally not found inside the body. He was put on anti-biotics for weeks and still he ended up at the hospital.

If a patient is getting pneumonia, the best thing to do is for him to go see his doctor ASAP and to work with a speech and language pathologist on swallowing techniques. It’s important to focus on swallowing when eating and not talk and eat, for example. It may also help to change the consistency of the food de-ending on the advice from the SLP. Aspiration pneumonia is a dangerous condition and it is important to follow medical advice.