A instruction program for cleaning dentures of the elderly and its effect

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Oral health is closely related to mental and physical health. Generally speaking, the elderly use a denture. It is essential for the elderly with a denture to adequately clean a denture to keep oral and physical condition healthy. To measure force exerted by a denture brush, 4 strain gauges were attached to a handle of a denture brush and a measurement tool for brushing force was calibrated. A measurement tool for quantitatively detecting the finger movement was used to evaluate finger movement. A major advantage of this magnetic sensor is that it enables the degree of finger opening and the incoordination of finger-thumb oppositions to be analyzed without being affected by involuntary movement. The subjects were instructed to tap as rapidly as possible while moving their fingers as far as they could. Power spectrum calculated from the movement-distance waveforms was available to evaluate finger movement. The main frequency in power spectrum might be a index for the ability of cleaning teeth and dentures. The main frequency was smaller in subject with dirty oral cavity and dentures than in a subject with clean oral cavity and dentures. The results suggested that a caregiver should clean oral cavity and dentures in a case of a small main frequency.