McGill University Study – Denture Brite™ Extra Strength Denture & Orthodontic Cleaner
Summary – A Clinical and Microbiological Evaluation of Denture Cleansers for Geriatric Patients in Long Term Care Institution
This study was undertaken to assess the efficacy between three denture cleansers to reduce microorganisms (fungi and Streptococci mutans) on dentures among a hospitalized geriatric population.
It is common knowledge that edentulous patients in long term care hospitals cannot adequately brush or maintain their dentures due to disease and poor dexterity. Studies have revealed that poor dental hygiene and Candida Albicans infections are very common among elderly denture wearers. As well, nurses in institutions are overburdened making it difficult for them to care for their patient’s dentures.
The importance of clean dentures in these patients is not to be underestimated. Dentures containing debris, tartar and stain cause irritation and subsequent tissue response. It was revealed that denture cleaning and plaque elimination is a neglected function in most old age homes.
In this study, patients were assigned to three denture cleansers or water (control group). Denture Brite™ was used initially overnight, following this for 20 minutes each day. The soaking time for Polident Overnight™ and Efferdent New Concentrated Blue Tablet™ was overnight. These established periods were based on the manufacturer’s instructions. The results of this study revealed different levels of effectiveness between cleansers depending on the type of microorganism. In a multivariate analysis, including all study periods, a significant difference in the rank of fungi count was noted.
Dentures that received Denture Brite appeared to have significantly greater reduction in the number of fungi than those with Efferdent. Denture Brite and Polident, are effective against fungi in comparison to water. It was also noted that there was a considerable reduction in the number of microorganisms before and after the use of the cleansers when compared with water. The use of denture cleansers appears to be “clinically” useful in the reduction of microorganisms and significantly reduces the amount of food, stain and plaque on the dentures.