Oral Prosthesis Cleaning Practice and Oral Health Status of Removable Oral Prosthesis Wearers who attended Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania

Abstract

Background: Maintaining good oral health and extending the lifespan of prostheses require effective and routine cleaning procedures for complete and partially removable appliances. Removable oral prostheses should be cleaned daily to remove bacterial plaque and prevent infections, such as Candida albicans and denture stomatitis. Patients with affected prostheses must practice good oral hygiene for the rest of their lives. This study aims to assess the Oral prosthesis cleaning practice and oral health status of Removable Oral Prosthesis Wearers who attended Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania.

Materials and methods:  The sample size was calculated using the formula for cross-sectional studies developed by Kish and Leslie (1965), and convenience sampling was employed. This hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study involved 200 patients who attended the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre dental clinic in Moshi, Tanzania. A closed-ended tool and a self-administered questionnaire were used to assess the oral prosthesis cleaning practices and oral health status of removable oral prosthesis wearers. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were then conducted using STATA software version 15.0. A p-value of less than 5% was considered statistically significant.

Results: The average age of the participants was 57 years, with 56% female. This study revealed that the majority, 44%, had good denture hygiene. It also found that 49.5% of patients over 60 had poor hygiene habits. Additionally, 64.0% of the participants did not sleep with their dentures, and 27.0% cleaned them more than twice daily. Only 9.5% of the participants received annual examinations for their dentures, and 25.95% had inflammation on the denture's fit surface. The independent predictors of good oral hygiene were age, frequency of denture check-ups, frequency of denture cleaning, and palatal erythema.

Conclusions: The study found that the hygiene practices for removable dentures were unfavourable. Most patients sleep with dentures in place; the preferred cleaning method is water and toothpaste. Therefore, dentists should instruct patients on proper denture care to prevent oral cavity infections.