Oral Health charity issues guidance on denture care
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- Published: Monday, 10 September 2018 11:40
- Written by News Editor
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By 2050 there are expected to be two billion people across the world aged 60 or older, more than double today’s figure, but there is no consistency of advice on denture care. The Oral Health Foundation has therefore developed guidelines to give patients, oral healthcare professionals and caregivers guidance on optimal denture care. These are supported by best evidence and based on consensus from key international experts.
Research shows that people with dentures are using a variety of ways to clean their dentures, ranging from soap and water to toothpastes, bleaches and commercial products. The Oral Health Foundation has carried out a comprehensive search of online and other available sources, and found no consistency in the recommendations for cleaning and maintaining dentures.
The Oral Health Foundation has therefore have developed guidelines to give patients, oral healthcare professionals and caregivers guidance on optimal denture care. The Oral Health Foundation will use their authority, independence and international reach to spread these guidelines globally and therefore improve the oral and general health of denture wearers worldwide.
The Guidelines
- Daily cleaning of the dentures using mechanical action – brushing with a toothbrush or denture brush and an effective, non-abrasive denture cleanser (no dentifrice).
- Daily soaking in a denture-cleansing solution – this seems to deliver extra chemical breakdown of the remaining plaque and some level of disinfection of the denture. Denture-cleansing solutions should only be used outside the mouth, and denture wearers should strictly follow the manufacturers’ guidelines.
- Denture wearers should not keep their dentures in the mouth overnight, unless there are specific reasons for keeping them in. This guideline is even more important for people at a higher risk of developing stomatitis and for frail or institutionalised older people. Soaking in a denture cleanser solution after mechanical cleaning seems to be beneficial for preventing denture stomatitis and the potential risk of pneumonia events in these groups of people.
- All patients who wear removable dentures should be enrolled into a regular recall and maintenance programme with their dental professional.
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