New denture care advice

New denture care guidelines have been developed by a global taskforce, which included representatives from the Oral Health Foundation and King’s College London, alongside leading experts from the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Japan.

All denture wearers should be enrolled into a regular recall and maintenance programme with their dental professional.

The project received an educational grant from GSK and found recommendations to both dental professionals and denture wearers vary between countries and within a country. The report highlighted that advice usually relies on personal experience which has led to contradictory guidance from dental professionals and health bodies.

Dr Nigel Carter CEO of the Oral Health Foundation and member of the Global Task Force for Care of Full Dentures, believes the new guidelines will be key in helping denture wearers significantly improve their oral health.He says: ‘Our findings show that people with dentures are using a variety of ways to clean them. This ranges from soap and water to toothpastes, bleaches and commercial products. With the variety of recommendations available, this is not a surprise and had to be addressed. The amount of inconsistent and often unproven advice about cleaning and maintaining dentures is frightening. Incorrect denture care can pose a real threat to both the oral health and general health of denture wearers. We hope these new recommendations can help health professionals and carers to give patients clear and trustworthy advice about the best way to look after their dentures.’