ABSTRACT
To determine the denture hygiene in complete denture wearers and their relationship to age, gender, educational level and denture-wearing behavior. Cross-sectional comparative study. Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry Rawalpindi from July 2009 to February 2010. This study was conducted over 173 adults aged 55-85 years who were fitted with new or modified complete maxillary and mandibular acrylic prostheses. Denture hygiene levels were recorded by using Budtz-Jorgensen and Bertram criteria. The majority of participants [44.5%] reported cleaning their dentures with toothbrush and toothpaste, compared to less than 10% each who reported using sodium bicarbonate, sodium hypochlorite, or ordinary soap. Overnight denture removal found in 112 [64.73%] subjects, 109 [63.0%] immersed their dentures in water and only 3 [1.7%] immersed them in a chemical solution. Denture hygiene was rated as [Good] for 38 participants [21.96%], [Fair] for 78 [45.08%] and [Poor] for 57[32.94%]. The degree of denture hygiene was found to be significantly associated with gender, level of education, self-perception of halitosis, overnight removal of dentures and denture immersion habits [p<0.001]. Denture related problems were more frequently among patients with poor denture hygiene