DENTURE HYGIENE HABITS IN COMPLETE DENTURE WEARERS AT ARMED FORCES INSTITUTE OF DENTISTRY

Abstract

Objective: To determine the denture hygiene in complete denture wearers and their relationship to age, gender, educational level and denture-wearing behavior.
Setting: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in Department of Prosthodontics, Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry Rawalpindi from July 2009 to February 2010.
Materials and patients: This study was conducted over 173 adults aged 55-85 years who were fitted with new or modified complete maxillary and mandibular acrylic prostheses. Denture hygiene levels were recorded by using Budtz-Jorgensen and Bertram criteria [10].
Results: The majority of participants (44.5%) reported cleaning their dentures with toothbrush and toothpaste, compared to less than 10% each who reported using sodium bicarbonate, sodium hypochlorite, or ordinary soap. Overnight denture removal found in 112 (64.73%) subjects, 109 (63.0%) immersed their dentures in water and only 3 (1.7%) immersed them in a chemical solution. Denture hygiene was rated as ‘‘Good’’ for 38 participants (21.96%), ‘‘Fair’’ for 78 (45.08%) and ‘‘Poor’’ for 57(32.94%).
Conclusions/Suggestions: The degree of denture hygiene was found to be significantly associated with gender, level of education, self-perception of halitosis, overnight removal of dentures and denture immersion habits (p<0.001). Denture related problems were more frequently among patients with poor denture hygiene; dentists should provide patients with careful instructions on denture hygiene and cleaning methods.