Presurgery guided oral care routines may lower the risk of postoperative pneumonia and reduce hospital stay duration across different types of procedures, according to an observational study recently published in PLoS One. Furthermore, the greatest effect was seen in upper gastrointestinal surgery, where pneumonia risk was the highest, the authors wrote. The oral care protocol included an oral evaluation, treatment of infections, professional cleaning procedures, denture care, and bacterial control measures. Lower gastrointestinal surgery showed the lowest incidence (RD: 0.94%, 95% CI: -0.13% to 2.01%), they wrote. Additionally, IPTW analysis revealed shorter hospital stays in the early oral care group (mean difference: -2.65 days, 95% CI: -4.75 to -0.55, p = 0.013).