Since people over 65 use an average of three prescriptions and two over-the-counter medications per day, they stand a good chance of suffering from dry mouth.7,8,9 The likelihood of xerostomia increases with the number of medications a person takes. For patients who suffer from dry mouth, contaminated dentures pose potential health risks -Dental professionals should be mindful of the prevalence of dry mouth in the aging population. While a three- to five-minute soak may not achieve the 99.9 percent kill rate of an overnight soak, it can nevertheless be effective in reducing bacterial counts and helping patients freshen up quickly before a social event. Many patients who adopt overnight denture soaking find that the quick-soak method still has its place in their daytime routine. Other good products on the market include Dentist On Call Denture Wipes (Majestic Drugs Company) or ProClean™. This level of disinfection may not be reached with many quick-fix cleaning methods. By encouraging the use of an overnight soak such as Polident® (GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare), dental hygienists can empower patients to kill up to 99.9 percent of the bacteria that colonizes on their prostheses. It’s easy for denture wearers to think one cleaning option is as effective as the next, and therefore choose the fastest or least expensive one. Overnight soaking can kill 99.9 percent of denture germs -Pharmacy shelves are lined with denture cleaning options, from all-natural soaking solutions to high-end ultrasonic devices.Eighty-seven percent of denture wearers report that malodor is a major concern.5 Because the body’s scent receptors become accustomed to a smell they are exposed to frequently, patients rightly fear that they may not be able to detect odor coming from their dentures.6 Dental hygienists can help patients manage their malodor and exposure to microbes by educating them on the effectiveness of overnight soaking in reducing odor-causing bacteria. But denture bacteria can also have an effect on one of the biggest everyday problems patients are motivated by - bad breath. But research has isolated Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and hundreds of other garden-variety germs in acrylic dentures.3,4 Keep in mind that while our mouths have the benefit of the body’s immune system, acrylic denture material has no such germ-fighting properties, so bacteria can easily reproduce within the denture.įrom the dental hygienist’s point of view, one of the most important reasons patients should control denture bacteria is to help prevent unnecessary exposure to microbes that could cause oral and systemic disease. After all, everyone’s mouth is filled with germs, thus we get morning breath. Some might wonder if this is really a cause for concern. A denture brush and foaming toothpaste simply may not penetrate the many hiding places that microbes find in a denture surface. Even a very thorough brushing may not be sufficient to reach bacteria harbored in microscopic crevices.
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