Denture hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward patient education in denture care among dental practitioners of Jabalpur city, Madhya Pradesh, India

CONTEXT: Researchers have concentrated their focus on denture wearer's attitude and practice toward denture cleansing despite the fact that they should be more focused on the attitudes of the dentists’ themselves towards patient education at the time of denture delivery. It is an obligation of every dentist to motivate, instruct and provide the means and methods of plaque control for their patients. AIMS: The aim was to assess the denture hygiene knowledge, attitudes and practice towards patient education in denture care among dental practitioners (DPs) of Jabalpur city, Madhya Pradesh, India. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 168 dental practitioners completed a comprehensive questionnaire. All participants signed an informed consent before answering the questionnaire. The institutional review committee approved the study. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Chi-square test for non-parametric study was employed to determine the statistical difference between the two groups. A P-value of 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: Most of the subjects were qualified with a bachelor degree 142 (85%). 25 (18%) subjects did not associate oral biofilms on complete denture with conditions like denture stomatitis and other serious systemic diseases. Approximately half of the DPs 69 (48%) and specialists 8 (31%) agreed that explaining denture hygiene instructions to old patients can be very time consuming. A recall program for their patients is of importance according to 39 (27%) of DPs and 3 (12%) specialists. CONCLUSIONS: It may be concluded that the study subjects had limited knowledge of denture cleansing materials and denture hygiene importance. Attitudes varied among the subjects when it came to sharing information with their patients.