Rasmussen MDC 1 Practice Exam

Recent intake of hot or cold beverages can temporarily skew an oral temperature reading. The mouth is directly influenced by the beverage, so heat or cold transfers to the oral tissues and saliva, giving a reading that doesn’t reflect the body’s true temperature. Waiting about 20–30 minutes allows the oral environment to return to baseline, so the measurement accurately represents the patient’s actual temperature. If you’re in a hurry, consider another measurement site, but for an oral reading, this waiting period is the standard to ensure accuracy.