Denture cleansers are frequently found in the American household since there are in excess of 16 million people wearing dentures. These unbiquitous products were thought to be without serious complications, but this belief was recently changed when a denture cleanser powder was found to cause severe oral cavity burns in a young child. This prompted us to investigate experimentally the chemical, caustic and histopathological properties of D.O.C.®, K.I.K.®, Kleenite®, Iodenture®, Extar D.C.® and Polident® denture cleanser powders. All but the latter two were found to be highly alkaline, capable of producing severe focal to diffuse caustic burns of the upper digestive tract.
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