Pressure indicators for removable prosthodontics

P.I.P. and Coltene pressure spot indicator were tested on the same 30 sets of complete maxillary and mandibular dentures and on two maxillary dentures against natural dentition. They were tested at delivery for pressure spots, but adjustments were not made. They were tested again after 24 hours to visualize and compare actual pressure spots. Half the dentures were adjusted according to P.I.P. and half according to Coltene pressure spot indicator. The patients were recalled after 1 week to determine if they were free from discomfort. The P.I.P. showed a greater clinical correlation of predictable to actual pressure spots and enabled the investigators to spare more patients from post-delivery discomfort.

The use of a soft denture liner for chronic residual ridge soreness

Chronic residual ridge soreness in patients with complete dentures can be caused by various factors. A differential diagnosis between physiologic or anatomic problems (or both) and functional deficiencies in the patient's present dentures must be made. The functional deficiencies can often be eliminated easily, whereas physiologic and anatomic problems may be more difficult to correct, especially in the geriatric patient. If the functional deficiencies in the patient's dentures have been corrected and surgical procedures are not a viable alternative, placement of a long-term resilient liner can often resolve the chronic residual ridge soreness that is present in denture patients. Properly placed and properly cared for silicone or silicone rubber resilient denture liners can provide comfort for over 70% of patients with chronic residual ridge soreness for 3 to 5 years and often longer.

Oral mucosal lesions among elderly in Israel

The prevalence of ulcerative or proliferative oral mucosal lesions (OML) is an important parameter in evaluating the oral health of an elderly population. This paper relates the prevalence of OML in an elderly population to possible risk factors and defined high-risk groups. The second objective was to examine whether effective prediction of OML was possible from interview data alone. The elderly population of a Jerusalem neighborhood was surveyed in 1981: 456 elderly were interviewed by trained interviewers, and their oral cavities were examined by an oral epidemiologist. Specific diagnoses were confirmed by an independent senior clinician. Almost 40% of the elderly presented ulcerative or proliferative oral mucosal lesions. The prevalence of these OML was strongly related to the condition and age of dentures. The association between these OML and oral hygiene disappeared after controlling for the condition of the denture. Two variables ascertained by interview--age of denture and self-reported suitability of denture--turned out to be strong predictors of denture condition.

Depression: a psychologic consideration in complete denture prosthodontics

When the complete denture population was examined for depression with the BDI, the greatest prevalence of depressive symptoms was found to coincide with the age groups that included the greatest proportion of denture wearers. An awareness by the dentist of high-risk groups for depression within the patient pool may help explain difficulties in achieving patient satisfaction with dentures, facilitate recognition of a problem, and make possible appropriate referral for diagnosis and treatment.

Oral mucosal disorders in denture wearers

Patients who wear dentures present with a variety of symptoms and abnormal intraoral findings. The advanced age of the average denture wearer and the nature of the denture-bearing mucosa appear to influence the nature of the problems. Superimposed infection with candidal organisms and traumatic lesions are the most commonly encountered abnormalities. Patients with symptoms but no intraoral changes frequently had a psychologic component to their complaint and did not improve after alteration of their dentures.

Speech sound distortions caused by changes in complete denture morphology

A numerical method for speech analysis has been developed. The method is based on sounds spectrograms as carriers of information about individual voice characteristics. The effects on speech sounds caused by alterations of the oral cavity dimensions with complete dentures of different morphology were analysed. Different positions of upper incisors and different thickness of the denture palatal plate were used as changeable factors in the longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the oral cavity. The effects of these changes on the relative duration of separate sounds in a word and the patient adaptation period were also analysed. From the results some conclusions of pragmatic value were obtained useful in the clinical procedures of denture construction.

Transferrin reactivity in oral mucosa adjacent to different dental restorations

Transferrin (TF) is a metal-binding protein that has been detected in human mucosal tissues. Positive TF reactivity has been related to iron transport, epithelial keratinization, and the non-specific defense system of mucosal membranes. An immunoperoxidase staining technique was used to study the distribution of TF in buccal mucosa adjacent to different metallic restorations (62 cases) to assess the nature of tissue changes possibly attributable to dental materials. The transferrin reactivity in the oral epithelium of 10 patients with galvanic symptoms was also determined. The results showed an obvious shift in TF reactivity from weak to strong in patients with complete dentures and in those with galvanic symptoms when compared with controls. The results are discussed in terms of epithelial cell proliferation and keratinization and of the role of TF in chelating free metallic ions.

Oral hygiene, dental visits and age of denture for prevalence of denture stomatitis

A representative sample of Finnish denture wearers (n = 3875) aged 30 or over were examined clinically and interviewed about their oral hygiene habits, use of dental services and possible prosthetic treatment during last visit to a dentist. Of these denture wearers, over 80% brushed their dentures at least once a day, and 16% visited a dentist at least once in 2 yr. For denture stomatitis the age-standardized risk ratio decreased with brushing frequency in women and increased in men. For frequency of dental visits the prevalence of denture stomatitis increased in both men and women when visits were made over 2-yr intervals. The prevalence of denture stomatitis was higher in the group with dentures over 1 yr old. It seems that the oral hygiene measures as they are generally carried out and regular dental visits are not effective enough methods in preventing denture stomatitis.