The needs of denture-brushing in geriatrics: clinical aspects and perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: Oral and denture hygiene are often defective in particular with dependent persons such as geriatric subjects. The reasons are the lack of hygiene education of the subjects or those caring for them. Consequently, oral hygiene is often neglected, resulting in poor oral health and an increase in the presence of local or general infections.

OBJECTIVE: This paper is a report of brushing effectiveness on microbial biofilm deposits on dentures of subjects participating in a specific oral hygiene programme.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine dentures of 30 subjects were assessed for 2 weeks following an educational brushing programme. Microbial biofilm was recovered using fluoresceine and then scanned and quantified by 'Mesurim' software three times: before study, after 1 and 2 weeks.

RESULTS: The repeated measurement procedures showed a decrease in the percentage of biofilm present (F = 15, p < 0.001) whatever the type of denture (partial or complete) and for all biomaterials.

CONCLUSION: Regular denture-brushing can improve local hygiene. Consequently, decreasing the biofilm surface can reduce the prevalence of oral pathogens, thereby contributing to the general prevention of the risks of infections such as pneumotisis.