Evaluation of denture hygiene among removable denture wearers referred to clinics of Kerman, Iran

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The number of patients who need prosthetic treatments has increased. Efficient and regular procedures for cleaning removable dentures are important for maintaining good oral health. The aim of this study was to analyze the oral and prostheses care habits of removable denture users, who attended the clinics of Kerman, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 350 patients, who attended the clinics of Kerman and were chosen by the multistage sampling method. Data were obtained from a checklist consisting of demographic characteristics (age, sex, educational level, kind of prosthesis, age of prosthesis, self-report of halitosis, and smoking status), denture hygiene habits, denture-wearing behavior, and cleanliness of denture by examiner. Data was analyzed using chi-squared test (P < 0.05). RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 58.52 +/- 10.78 years, 103 (29.4%) were male and 247 (70.6%) were female. The results showed that 78.6% had complete denture and 12.7% reported halitosis, 55.1% used their denture at night, and 36.4% had poor denture hygiene. Brushing was the most used cleaning method by the patients (36.5%). 60.4% reported never having been instructed by their dentists as to how to clean their dentures. 58.6% had been using the same denture for more than 5 years. There was a significant correlation between the kind of denture, and denture hygiene and education level. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of the present study denture hygiene was not favorable. Therefore, dentists should instruct the patients on cleaning their denture in order to prevent denture-induced lesions.