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Ensuring care home residents brush their teeth is good standard health practice. But US research suggests that tooth-brushing could save lives.

Studies co-ordinated by the University of Buffalo's Dr Ali El-Solh conclude that a clean mouth reduces the chance of developing lung diseases such as pneumonia.

"This is the first study that establishes unequivocally a link between dental hygiene and respiratory infection," El-Solh said.

Germs that can damage lungs lurk in tooth plaque and can be inhaled into the lungs, he said, so care homes should encourage oral hygiene.