Lecturer on contract, Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
J Prosthet Dent. 2021 May;125(5):772.e1-772.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2021.01.024. Epub 2021 Feb 26.
With the aging population, an increasing number of patients will require removable dental prostheses. Despite the recent public efforts to improve oral healthcare, knowledge of hygiene procedures for removable dental prostheses is sparse.
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine, through questionnaires, the level of awareness and education of home hygiene procedures among elderly Italian individuals wearing removable dental prostheses and to correlate self-reported hygiene habits and prosthesis cleanliness, as determined by a clinical examination.
A cross-sectional study was performed by questionnaires administered by a dental hygienist to patients attending the dental clinics (prosthodontic and periodontology clinical units) at San Paolo Hospital of Milan from January 2014 to October 2015 and who volunteered to participate. The questionnaire included demographic data and oral hygiene habits. Each participant received an intraoral and prosthesis examination performed by the same dental hygienist. The cleanliness of the removable dental prosthesis was classified according to a 3-point scoring system. Categorical variables were expressed as a percentage of study participants and compared by using the χ test, while, for the statistical correlations between continuous and categorical variables, the point-biserial correlation calculator was used (α=.05).
Questionnaires were collected from 161 study participants: 92 women (mean ±standard deviation age: 76 ±7.59 years; range: 65-93 years) and 69 men (mean ±standard deviation age: 74 ±6.31 years; range: 65-86 years). A total of 239 prostheses were considered. A significant correlation was found between older participants, older removable dental prostheses, and reduced prosthesis cleanliness, correlating age ranges of participants as well as of removable dental prostheses with the degrees of prosthesis cleanliness (P=.001 and P=.004, respectively). Half the study participants (n=81; 50.3%) reported prosthesis removal during the night, while the others reported sleeping with the prosthesis in place. Some study participants (n=32; 19.9%) reported that they had never received instructions about how to clean the prosthesis. Mechanical brushing with toothbrush and toothpaste was the most common cleaning method (n=47; 29.2%), while the recommended combined cleaning method based on both mechanical brushing and immersion in dental cleanser was applied by 34 (21.1%) study participants. A similar number (n=25; 15.5%) reported at least 1 episode of denture-related stomatitis.
In the analyzed cohort, patient attitude and habits toward home procedures for denture hygiene resulted in poor prosthesis cleanliness. Most individuals used a toothbrush and toothpaste to clean their device, although combining mechanical and chemical cleaning is typically reported to be the optimal method.
随着人口老龄化，越来越多的患者将需要可摘义齿。尽管最近公众努力改善口腔保健，但对可摘义齿卫生程序的了解仍然很少。
本横断面研究的目的是通过问卷调查确定佩戴可摘义齿的意大利老年个体对家庭卫生程序的认知和教育水平，并将自我报告的卫生习惯与临床检查确定的义齿清洁度进行相关性分析。
2014 年 1 月至 2015 年 10 月，一名牙科保健师在米兰圣保禄医院的牙科诊所（修复科和牙周病临床单位）向自愿参加的患者发放调查问卷，进行横断面研究。调查问卷包括人口统计学数据和口腔卫生习惯。每位参与者都接受了同一名牙科保健师进行的口腔内和义齿检查。可摘义齿的清洁度根据 3 分制进行分类。分类变量用研究参与者的百分比表示，并通过卡方检验进行比较，而对于连续和分类变量之间的统计学相关性，使用点二项式相关计算器（α=.05）。
共收集了 161 名研究参与者的问卷：92 名女性（平均年龄±标准差：76±7.59 岁；范围：65-93 岁）和 69 名男性（平均年龄±标准差：74±6.31 岁；范围：65-86 岁）。共考虑了 239 个义齿。研究发现，参与者年龄较大、义齿使用时间较长与义齿清洁度较差之间存在显著相关性，参与者年龄范围和可摘义齿年龄范围与义齿清洁度程度相关（P=.001 和 P=.004）。一半的研究参与者（n=81；50.3%）报告在夜间取下义齿，而其他人则报告睡觉时戴着义齿。一些研究参与者（n=32；19.9%）报告从未接受过如何清洁义齿的指导。机械刷牙和使用牙膏是最常见的清洁方法（n=47；29.2%），而推荐的基于机械刷牙和浸泡在牙科清洁剂中的联合清洁方法则由 34 名（21.1%）研究参与者使用。类似数量的（n=25；15.5%）报告至少有 1 次义齿相关性口炎发作。
在分析的队列中，患者对义齿日常护理的态度和习惯导致义齿清洁度较差。大多数人使用牙刷和牙膏清洁义齿，尽管联合使用机械和化学清洁通常被认为是最佳方法。
