Bedside procedures

How to give mouth care

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

Nursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Good mouth care prevents infections, including pneumonia.

Step by step

  1. Position

    Sitting up; unconscious patients on their side with suction ready. [1]

  2. Brush

    Soft brush, teeth, gums and tongue, at least twice a day. [1]

  3. Unconscious

    Swabs or a soft brush, small amounts of fluid, suction; never your fingers in the mouth. [1]

  4. Dentures

    Remove, brush, rinse, store in a labeled cup. [1]

  5. Lips

    Moisturize. [1]

  6. Look

    Sores, bleeding, white patches; report. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

10 VMS cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. Open RN, Nursing Fundamentals 2e (CC BY 4.0)
  2. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  3. OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) and OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills, licensed under CC BY 4.0. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.