Polident Takes on Denture Care Awareness


Did you know that 9M Filipinos wear dentures? I remember my Mom telling me that they now wear dentures because as a kid, they used to refrain from brushing their teeth after eating candies. And now, Philippines is the country with the highest incidence of denture wearers in Asia, with mostly in the 35-69 year old age group. Aside from dental care, GSK’s Polident embarks on a campaign to educate the public on the proper maintenance of dentures to allow them to pursue regular activities such as speaking and eating without fear. Of course, who would want their dentures to fall off now and then right?

Last May 15, GlaxoSmithKline, with the Philippine Prosthodontic Society, launched an advocacy to promote proper denture care among Filipinos, so they may feel confident in doing natural things like eating, speaking, and smiling.


In one study, ‘’Oral Care U&A Market Understanding Study Middle East &Asia’’ conducted in July 2014, revealed that sixty one percent of denture wearers are female, while thirty nine percent are male. “The same study reported that eighty four percent of denture users reside in Metro Manila, with nine percent in Metro Cebu and six percent in Metro Davao. Fifty six percent cited careless oral regime as a reason for wearing dentures, while nineteen percent attributed wearing dentures to loosing teeth in accident, and twelve percent to illness,’’ Marfori added.

In my family, most of my Titos and Titas wear dentures. During family celebrations, my aunt get worried that she cannot eat some of the foods we have prepared because her dentures might fall off or worse, it might broke. And we all know the cost of having to repair dentures. 

“It is not uncommon to hear stories of false teeth coming off while speaking or while eating. In fact, in YouTube, there are a lot of videos posted which show these embarrassing moments featuring people from all walks of life. Whose confidence wouldn’t be demolished once a denture wearer finds himself in this situation,’’ said Dr. Magtanong.


The PPS official also noted that as a result of these humiliating situations, some denture wearers become very shy. “Others would cover their mouths while speaking, some would refuse to attend social functions. To be safe, others would not eat food that require much biting, thus they are inhibited,’’ Dr. Magtanong added.

Evelyn Del Mundo, registrar at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), knew that the latent risk of dentures falling off could be disastrous to her reputation as a university official. “Since I face and interact with students on a daily basis, my dentures need to be solidly secure. It’s really difficult when I speak while my dentures rattle about. I especially become wary when I eat; I do not know what happens in my mouth when I chew: have the dentures fallen off? Was it food or was it my dentures?” admitted Del Mundo. 

These problems and more, makes denture wearers feel insecure at times. And it makes them discouraged in doing things that  should be natural for a person. 

“There are responsibilities that come with wearing dentures, lack of proper maintenance measures lead to more serious problems like bad breath, swollen gums, or loose fit. While it is true that wearing dentures is tedious, a change in habits and lifestyle will help give back self-confidence to the denture wearer,” said Dr. Magtanong. 

Among these responsibilities is to make sure that the dentures are regularly and properly cleaned, and that they snugly fit in the mouth which only professional dentists can do for the patient. 

“Denture wearers also lack information in the proper way to care for their dentures. For instance, sixty four percent do not remove it before going to sleep at night. By not removing dentures and soaking in proper cleansers, bacterias build up and cause more problems in the mouth,’’ the study further cited. Clearly, denture usage is very high but knowledge and use of products like denture adhesives and denture cleansers is low, Marfori said. 

“Denture cleansers are not very popular and most use regular toothpastes for cleaning dentures, which should not be the case because toothpaste contains abrasives that scratch dentures, leaving small holes where bacteria can collect and grow. Toothpaste also contains bleaching chemicals that may damage the dentures and whiten its pink portion,’’ Dr. Magtanong stated.

On the other hand, denture adhesives usage is low because denture wearers do not see the importance of having snugly fit dentures. “As much as possible, dentures should be firm and stable in the mouth to stop food particles from getting into the dentures,’’ Dr. Magtanong advised.

GSK, one of the largest global healthcare companies and is currently one of the key players in the oral care strategy, has come up with Polident, an ally of denture wearers in maintaining and caring for false teeth to give back to denture wearers their self-confidence. They also introduced the "Take the Polident Challenge!, where GSK and the PPS collaborated to erase the stigma of social, emotional and physical tortures brought about by improper denture care. 

Polident Denture Adhesive Cream and Polident Denture Cleanser

With the use of Polident Denture Adhesive Cream, it secures the dentures properly. Applying Polident Denture Adhesive Cream on the dentures once a day helps fasten it securely for up to twelve hours. 

Polident Denture Cleanser, on the other hand, is formulated to clean dentures, remove stains and kill 99.9 percent of odor-causing particles. 

You may catch the Polident installation this May 29 to 31 at Tutuban Market.

Polident dares denture wearers to live a healthy life free of inhibitions by taking the Polident Challenge. For free samples and delivery nationwide of both Polident Denture Cleanser and Polident Denture Adhesive Cream, call 924-2475.

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  1. I was not aware that many people had dentures. However, I'm happy that someone is taking on the task of raising awareness of the importance of cleaning your dentures. After all, they can be very easy to forge to clean. Nonetheless, they are still very important to clean. They can very easily get damaged and irreparable if you don't care for them properly. http://www.patrickpittsdentistry.com/our-practice

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