Influence of demographic variables on denture hygiene knowledge and practices among partial and complete denture wearers

Background: Continuous use of dentures requires regular hygiene maintenance, a task which is often neglected by the patients. The objective of this study was to assess the level of awareness/knowledge grade among partial and complete denture wearers regarding oral and denture hygiene maintenance, and to establish any association of this knowledge with different demographic variables including age, gender, socioeconomic status, education, and type of denture. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out through consented interviews using a self-designed close-ended questionnaire based on 9 relevant items. Afterwards, a simple numerical calculation was done to derive the final score, ranging from 0 upto 9, which was then used to categorize the knowledge grade into 5 groups: Extremely poor (score of 0 or 1); Relatively poor (score of 2 or 3); Moderate (score of 4 or 5); Relatively good (score of 6 or 7); and Extremely good (score of 8 or 9). Results: A total of 112 patients were included, with a mean score of 4.92 ± 1.89. There were only 6 (5.4%) patients with extremely poor and 8 (7.1%) patients with extremely good knowledge grade. Almost 37% patients had moderate level of knowledge. Chi-square test remained highly significant for age groups (P<0.001), socio-economic status (P<0.001), education level (P=0.010) and type of denture (P<0.001). For gender, the test remained non-significant (P= 0.117). Conclusions: Denture hygiene knowledge and practices of denture wearers is strongly related to demographic variables of age, socio-economic status, education level and the type of denture being worn.