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Background: The dilemma of patient satisfaction vs. non-satisfaction with dentures is another never-ending debate in dentistry. The fabrication of optimal dentures is possible with appropriate prosthetic laboratory techniques along with patients’ anatomic and physiologic requirements assessed by a dentist. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patient’s priority and mean satisfaction scores of the patient and dentist during complete denture therapy. Material and methods: After selecting the subjects based on decided inclusion and exclusion criteria, the patients were asked to fill the proforma with VAS. The proforma contained a questionnaire divided into 3 parts which need to be filled by both the patients and the dentist, independently. The patients rated their dentures using a scale ranging from 1-5 (5=very satisfied; 4=satisfied; 3=neither satisfied, nor dissatisfied; 2=dissatisfied; 1=very dissatisfied), and a dentist rated the quality of the denture and the denture-bearing area. Results: According to the patient’s priority the majority of the patients preferred mastication (47%). The highest mean dentist satisfaction score was concerned with the extension of a denture (0.97 ± 0.28). There was no statistically significant difference with age and gender for mean denture assessment, aesthetic, phonetics, mastication and comfort satisfaction score (p>0.05). However, the employed patients have aesthetic, phonetics and mastication satisfaction score higher than unemployed patients and the relationship was statistically significant (p<0.05). The educated patients have mean phonetics satisfaction score higher as compared to uneducated patients and the relationship was statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: Majority of the patients was concerned with better chewing function with their dentures. Age and gender do not affect patient satisfaction. However, employed patients were less satisfied with their dentures as compare to unemployed patients. In addition, patients who were educated had better phonetics with their dentures as compare to uneducated patients. Strong dentist-patient communication is necessary to be able to satisfy a patient.
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Aim: The aim was to study the ultrastructure of dentin exposed by attrition, abrasion and erosion separately and in combination and to visualize the lesions using scanning electron microscope and thereby establish a superior basis for evaluating dentinal changes at the ultra-structural level and to correlate the findings with changes seen at the light microscopic level. Study Design: Tooth wear is often multifactorial. Loss and excessive wear of hard dental tissues is a permanent problem of the dentition, especially in present era, encompassing almost all age groups. In this study 40 extracted teeth were used. Four groups were made and comparison was made between light microscope and scanning electron microscopic findings. Place and Duration of Study: Department of oral and maxillofacial pathology, career post graduate institute of dental sciences, lucknow, (U.P.), India. Methodology: Forty extracted permanent teeth (10 attrited, 10 abraded, 10 eroded and 10 normal premolars and molars) were sampled divided into four groups. After debridement and fixation in 10% formalin for 24-48 hours, the teeth were fractured along their longitudinal axes. Two halves of the teeth were studied under scanning electron and light microscope. The dentinal changes secondary to attrition, abrasion and erosion such as dead tracts, dentinal sclerosis and reparative dentin formation seen under light microscopy, were correlated with the ultra-structural findings. The data so obtained were tabulated and statistically analyzed. Results: The light microscopic finding of 4 randomly selected teeth, showed frequency of tertiary dentin significantly more than dead tracts and dentinal sclerosis was absent, from each group. 10 samples scanned with electron microscope showed the tubular surface/margins smooth, tubular surface/margins rough and presence of crystals was highly significant (p<0.001) whereas peritubular dentin and intertubular dentin, was not significant (p>0.05) in each group. Similarly, mean density of dentinal tubules of normal group was the highest followed by abraded, attrited and eroded the least. The percentage of affected dentinal tubules was most in eroded & least in attrited teeth. Conclusion: The scanning electron microscope is a powerful magnification tool which offers extremely high resolution. In the present study, scanning electron microscopic image complements the information available from the light microscope about the dentinal changes in abraded, attrited and eroded teeth.
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Introduction: Fracture of an acrylic resin complete denture base after aging, poses problem for patients, dentists and dental laboratory technicians. This study was performed to determine the effect of thermocycling on the flexural strength of a commercially available, heat-polymerized acrylic denture base material reinforced with glass fibers, carbon fibers, aramid fibers and high (HI) impact resins. Materials and Methods: Forty specimens were made of similar dimension from five groups of materials. Each group had eight specimens. A commercially available heat polymerized P.M.M.A denture base resin was selected as control and PMMA reinforced with glass, carbon, aramid fibres and HI impact resin were compared. All specimens were then subjected to thermocycling before testing. Flexural strength was evaluated with universal testing machine. The results were analyzed with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by Turkey HSD test. Results: All reinforced specimens and HI impact resins showed better flexural strength than the conventional acrylic resin after thermocycling. Specimens reinforced with glass fibers showed the highest flexural strength, followed by HI impact resin, carbon fibers and aramid fibers. After artificial aging, a significant improvement in the flexural strength of conventional acrylic resin was observed when it was reinforced with glass fibers. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, incorporation of 2% by weight of glass fibre in PMMA resin exhibited statistically significant maximum flexural strength followed by high impact resin, carbon, polyaramid reinforced P.M.M.A denture base resin. These can readily be used in the fabrication of dentures subjected to heavy masticatory loads.
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Aim and Objectives: This study is determined the vertical distance between lingual frenum and incisal edge of mandibular central incisors in dentulous subject and edentulous denture wearer subjects and their variation in different age groups and sex. Materials and Methods: This study involved 120 dentulous subjects (60 men, 60 women) and 20 complete denture wearers. Depending upon the age, the dentulous subjects were divided into three groups. Each group consisted of 40 subjects (20 men, 20 women). Group I consisted of 20-30 yr age, group II 30-4 0yr age and group III consisted of more than 40 yr age. Mandibular impressions of dentulous and denture wearers were made with irreversible hydrocolloid and cast retrieved. The vertical distance between the anterior attachment of lingual frenum and incisal edges of the mandibular central incisors for both the dentulous and edentulous subjects was measured on the casts with the help of dental surveyor. Data were tabulated and stastically analysed. Results: Overall (irrespective of gender) normative range for vertical distance between the anterior attachment of the lingual frenum and mesioincisal edge of mandibular central incisor among dentulous subjects is 9.52-10.24 mm. If we consider gender it is 10.00-11.13 mm for male and 8.82-9.58 mm for female. Conclusion: This study indicated that the distance between the antero-superior most point on the lingual frenum and the mesio-incisal edges of mandibular central incisors can be used as a reliable landmark when the frenum is recorded during function.
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Rehabilitation of congenital cleft palate defect improves the quality of life for the patient as normal as possible. Obturator size depends on defect’s size and volume. The prosthesis should be easy to handle, simple to maintain, biocompatible, light in weight and conventional for future adjustments. This case report describes a cleft palate patient, which was rehabilitated with a hollow bulb obturator.
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It is the dentist’s responsibility to fabricate a prosthesis incorporating stability, retention and support which ultimately provide satisfaction to the patient. But in the critical conditions such as long lip length or severely resorbed ridges with increased inter arch distance, the weight of a maxillary denture is often a dislodging factor. Hence, a light weight denture is required for better retention. This article describes a case of completely edentulous patient successfully rehabilitated with a hollow denture where a simplified technique of fabricating a light weight maxillary denture was used.