Knowledge attitude and practice towards denture hygiene among interns, specialists and practitioners

Abstract

A successful complete denture treatment can be achieved when the patients are motivated and aware of appropriate denture wear and oral hygiene maintenance. General and oral health could improve through quality of life. Hence, the purpose of this study was to evaluate denture hygiene knowledge attitude and practice towards patients education among dental interns and practitioners. A total of 190 participants were included in the study. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among interns and practitioners. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts based on knowledge, attitude and practice and the collected data were analysed using SPSS software. Chi square test was performed to determine the statistical significance. In this present study, majority of participants (93.7%) were aware of plaque accumulation in dentures and about 50.5% of the participants agreed that explaining denture hygiene instructions to patients was time consuming. 45.3% of the participants recommended denture cleansing tooth brush and 42.6% of the participants recommended regular toothbrush for denture cleansing. Association between level of education and knowledge of the respondents about removal of denture adhesive on a daily basis showed positive association (p<0.05). Association between level of education and the medium by which instructions were given to patients shows positive significance (p value <0.05). Positive association was present between place of practice and explaining denture hygiene instructions to patients is very time consuming (p value <0.05). Association between gender and recall program for complete denture patients is not important as denture teeth are artificial teeth, showed significance (p value<0.05). Association between gender and methods which respondents recommend for denture cleansing to patients was statistically not significant (p value > 0.05). Knowledge, attitude and practice among interns and practitioners had limited knowledge on denture cleansers and the importance of denture hygiene practice.