{
  "abstract": "Background/Objectives: Many denture wearers rely on ineffective home-care methods, and oral probiotics are an emerging hygiene adjunct of unclear acceptability. This study evaluated denture hygiene knowledge, self-reported practices, oral microbiome/probiotic awareness, and stated willingness to use a probiotic-based denture cleanser among Saudi removable-prosthesis wearers, and their association with objective clinical findings. Methods: In this single-center cross-sectional study, 107 removable-prosthesis wearers attending King Saud University Dental Hospital were recruited by convenience sampling. Participants completed a purpose-designed bilingual questionnaire assessed for content validity and test-retest reliability, and underwent a standardized clinical examination by one calibrated prosthodontist. A composite probiotic/microbiome knowledge score (0-4) was derived from four items. Outcomes included the Denture Cleanliness Index (DCI), biofilm accumulation, retention, stability, fit, and denture stomatitis. Non-parametric tests and multivariable logistic regression were used. Results: Mean age was 58.6 years (SD 13.2) and 58.9% were women. Although 97.2% considered denture cleaning important, evidence-based methods were used infrequently (cleansing tablets, 20.6%). Awareness of the oral microbiome (17.8%) and of oral probiotics (18.7%) was low, and 61.7% scored 0 or 1 of 4 on the composite knowledge score (mean 1.19). Self-reported cleaning frequency and knowledge score did not correlate with the DCI or biofilm scores. In exploratory models, female gender was associated with lower odds of both a low knowledge score and poor denture cleanliness. Overall, 51.4% said they would try a probiotic-based denture cleanser, 35.5% answered \"Maybe\", and 13.1% were unwilling. Responses to this item were unstable on retest (κw = 0.169), so these figures are preliminary. Conclusions: In this single-center sample, perceived importance of denture hygiene was not matched by evidence-based cleaning practice, and self-reported hygiene did not correspond to objective denture cleanliness. Awareness of oral probiotics was low, while stated willingness to try a probiotic-based denture cleanser was common. These findings indicate a need for evidence-based denture-hygiene education and for clinical evaluation of probiotic-based denture cleansers; they do not establish the effectiveness or acceptability of such products.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11545, Saudi Arabia.",
    "Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia.",
    "College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11545, Saudi Arabia.",
    "Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1G6, Canada."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Rua S Babaier",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9565-8275"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sarah M Almuhayya",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-9721-4596"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Waled M Alshhrani",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9114-5632"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Hassan M Alsaleh",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-2378-7535"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ghosoun Alfudily",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-6771-445X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Sara A Alfadda"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/496g2ph13xkxm.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/healthcare14203466",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13704227",
  "id": "496g2ph13xkxm",
  "issns": [
    "2227-9032"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940511",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3506|Oral microbiology and periodontitis research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222261785",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13704227?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13704227",
  "pmid": "42940511",
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/496g2ph13xkxm.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:12Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42940511",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940511"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [],
  "title": "Denture Hygiene Knowledge, Practices, and Stated Willingness to Use a Probiotic-Based Denture Cleanser Among Removable-Prosthesis Wearers at a Saudi University Dental Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study.",
  "title_text": "Denture Hygiene Knowledge, Practices, and Stated Willingness to Use a Probiotic-Based Denture Cleanser Among Removable-Prosthesis Wearers at a Saudi University Dental Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/496g2ph13xkxm",
  "venue": "Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)",
  "versions": []
}