[Health Tip] Today is 'Tteulni Day'... How to Care for Your Dentures

Every year on July 1st is "Denture Day." It was designated to commemorate the day in 2012 when denture health insurance benefits were first applied to seniors aged 75 and older. Later, in 2016, the insurance coverage age was expanded to include those aged 65 and older on the same day.

The Korean Academy of Prosthodontics held a dental bus screening event for denture users on June 28, in celebration of "2023 Denture Day" on July 1.
[Photo by the Korean Academy of Prosthodontics]

The domestic denture population, estimated to be about 6.4 million, continues to increase due to aging and the expansion of denture insurance coverage. Partial denture use is also rising among those under 64 years old besides the elderly. However, contrary to this trend, many users neglect denture care, which often worsens oral health, and awareness of dental checkups is relatively low.

Dentures require an adaptation period after fitting. Since dentures are custom-made to fit the structure inside the patient's mouth, a well-fitted denture should fit tightly and stay in place without wobbling. Users may feel discomfort such as looseness during the initial use, and in such cases, adjustments and checkups at the dental clinic are necessary to properly fit the dentures.It is necessary to have regular checkups once at 3 months and once at 6 months after starting to use dentures, and after about a year, stable denture use becomes possible.

It is also important to know and practice proper denture cleaning methods regularly. If dentures are not properly cleaned after meals, food particles or foreign substances can remain, contaminating the dentures or causing odors. However, dentures differ from natural teeth, and brushing them with toothpaste can scratch the denture surface, allowing bacteria that cause bad breath and denture stomatitis to breed in the crevices, so toothpaste use should be avoided. Dentures should be managed by sterilizing once a day using a denture-specific cleanser. Also, during sleep, storing dentures in water with one denture-specific cleansing tablet helps clean the dentures and encourages the habit of removing dentures while sleeping.

Shim Junsung, President of the Korean Academy of Prosthodontics, explained, “Contrary to the common belief that dentures are exclusive to the elderly, the use of partial dentures by relatively younger users is also increasing, making education to reduce discomfort and help proper use more important.” He added, “Dentures require an adaptation period after fitting, and if denture checkups are done once at 3 months and once at 6 months initially, a stable phase can be reached after one year.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.