Effectiveness of Removable Denture Care with Pictorial Instructions among Denture Wearers in Islamabad Dental Hospital

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pictorial denture care instructions in improving knowledge and hygiene practices among removable denture wearers. METHODOLOGY The study is a quasi-experimental pre- and post-intervention study conducted at the Department of Prosthodontics, Islamabad Dental Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan, between 21st October 2025 and February 2026. One hundred and three (103) removable denture wearers aged 40 years and above were recruited using convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire on denture hygiene knowledge and denture care practices, along with demographic characteristics, was used to collect the data. Pictorial denture care instructions were provided to participants after the baseline assessment to demonstrate how dentures should be cleaned. The same questionnaire was used to examine the post-intervention assessment. SPSS 26 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and the Chi-square test with Cramér's V was used to assess associations between pre- and post-intervention variables. A p-value that was less than 0.05 was treated as significant. RESULTSA total of 103 denture wearers participated in the study, with a mean age of 58.96 ± 11.86 years. At baseline, 52.4% of participants demonstrated poor knowledge regarding denture hygiene. After the pictorial educational intervention, 61.2% of participants demonstrated good knowledge, showing a statistically significant improvement (χ²=33.61, p<0.001). Significant improvements were also observed in denture hygiene practices, including cleaning dentures twice daily (39.8% to 80.6%), using denture brushes (42.7% to 82.5%), using cleansing solutions (35.0% to 79.6%), removing dentures during sleep (39.8% to 74.8%), and cleaning oral mucosa (36.9% to 79.6%) (p<0.001 for all variables). CONCLUSION Pictorial denture care instructions significantly improved both knowledge and hygiene practices among removable denture wearers. Incorporating visual educational materials into routine prosthodontic care may enhance patient understanding, improve denture hygiene behavior, and reduce the risk of denture-related oral complications.