Relationship Between Oral Hygiene Habits and The Presence of Oral Mucosal Lesions in Patients with Removable Prosthesis

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 419 - 428, 30.09.2025

Sezgi Cinel Şahin , Melih Özdede , Gülfem Özlü Uçan , Hasret Tanrıverdi Sahan

https://doi.org/10.30621/jbachs.1533347

Abstract

Relationship Between Oral Hygiene Habits and The Presence of Oral Mucosal Lesions in Patients with Removable Prosthesis

Abstract

Purpose: Oral mucosal lesions (OMLs) may develop in patients using removable dentures due to various local and systemic risk factors. This study aimed to assess the oral hygiene habits of patients with removable dentures, determine the prevalence of OMLs, and analyze the relationship between oral hygiene practices and the occurrence of these lesions.
Material and Methods: Patients using a removable prosthesis for at least one year were included. The patients' sociodemographic characteristics, systemic condition, and oral/denture hygiene habits were assessed. Clinical findings, prosthesis stomatitis classification, and (if any) OMLs (epulis fissuratum, flabby ridge, traumatic fibroma, pseudomembranous candidiasis, angular cheilitis, frictional keratosis, traumatic ulcer), if any were evaluated. Descriptive analysis and chi-square tests were used for the analysis.
Results: A significant part (n=31, 38%) of the 80 patients used the same prosthesis for 10 years or more, while 53.8% (n=43) of the participants did not receive any information from their dentists regarding prosthesis cleaning. The oral hygiene of two-thirds of the patients (n=54, 67.5%) was poor. Over half of the patients (n=43) used their dentures without interruption. More than half of the patients (n=60) had one or more OMLs. No significant relationship was found between the lesions and age or gender (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that most patients using removable dentures had poorly fitting dentures. Additionally, it was found that dentists do not provide adequate oral care training to their denture patients. Dentists should offer more comprehensive guidance on denture care and encourage patients to attend regular dental check-ups.

Keywords

Removable denture , denture stomatitis , oral medicine , oral hygiene

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval was obtained from Pamukkale University Medical Ethics Committee (Research Code No:60116787-020/44429, Date of approval: 16/04/2021). This work was done in accordance with the principles defined in the Declaration of Helsinki, including all revisions.

Supporting Institution

None

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