Usage of denture adhesives.

OBJECTIVES: There have been few reports in the dental literature on the number of denture wearers who regularly use denture adhesive. The objectives of this study were to see what the incidence of usage of denture adhesive was by a surveyed edentulous population, to determine the degree of success of its usage and the reasons for its current use or nonuse.
METHODS: In this study, 146 patients attending the Adelaide Dental Hospital for denture treatment were surveyed regarding their usage of denture adhesive, using a prepared questionnaire. The surveyed group was divided into three categories--those who had never tried denture adhesive, those who had tried denture adhesive but no longer used it, and those who currently used denture adhesive.
RESULTS: In the survey, there were 52 males (35.6%) and 94 females (64.4%) and 96 (65.7%) were over 60 years of age. Of these 78 patients (54.9%) had worn their dentures for 10 years or more, and 26 (17.8%) for 20 years or more. A total of 98 patients (67.1%) had never tried denture adhesive: 48 patients (32.9%) had tried denture adhesive but only 10 (6.9%) currently used it. Various reasons for trying denture adhesive and for its continued use or nonuse were given.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, 52% of patients surveyed saw no need for the use of denture adhesive as they managed their dentures well; 20.5% of patients did not know that denture adhesives existed; and 32.9% had tried denture adhesive but only 6.9% continued to use it on a regular basis.