Awareness of Denture Cleansers and its Recognition among Dental Professionals

Abstract

Objective: To assess the awareness of denture cleansers and its recognition among dental professionals in Karachi, Pakistan. Study Design and Setting: Cross-sectional study conducted at various institutes and hospitals of Karachi, over a period of 06 months from March to August’ 2019. Methodology: Total 200 dental practitioners were included in this study using nonprobability convenience sampling technique and according to the inclusion criteria. Those dental practitioners who were currently in practice; either at a hospital or clinic setting were included; others who were not in practice or only working as an academician were excluded. This study was conducted by administering a well-structured questionnaire, comprising of 12 close ended questions divided into two sections including demography and responses concerning the knowledge and attitude of dental practitioners regarding denture cleansers. The data was entered in SPSS version 25 for descriptive statistics for qualitative variables. Results: The study showed that 86.5% dentists were aware of denture cleansers and 89% prescribe them. However,58.5% were not aware of the adverse effects. Conclusion: Our analysis has shown that the dental professionals reinforce oral hygiene instructions in their dental practice and prescribe denture cleansers according to need. However, the knowledge regarding adverse effects among the subjects should be addressed