Association between socio-demographic variables and partial edentulism in the Goan population: An epidemiological study in India.

Context: Although, incidence of complete edentulism has decreased, partial edentulism is still prevalent in the country. This study aims to establish a relationship between socio-demographic variables, etiological factors, and partial edentulism. It also evaluates the prevalence of different classes of partial edentulism according to Kennedy’s classification. Materials and Methods: An institution-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on a randomly selected population in the state of Goa, India. The study group included patients who attended the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Prosthodontics during September to October, 2009. Data were acquired based on a pre-formed pro-forma (inclusive of a structured questionnaire and clinical examination) and was statistically analysed using the chi-square test. Results: A total of 423 participants were enrolled for this study. Three hundred and twentytwo individuals were partially edentulous indicating a prevalence rate of 76.12%. 54.97% were females. The peak was recorded in the age group of 24-34 years, 51.24% were un-employed, 54.97% belonged to the medium income group, 58.07% resided in urban areas, 48.45% belonged to the basic educational group and 54.35% had a fair oral hygiene status. Kennedy’s class III group (50.30%) was the most frequent type of partial edentulism. An association between the aforementioned characteristics and partial edentulism was recorded with a statistically significant association between partial edentulism and two characteristics, namely monthly family income and education. Conclusion: Partial edentulism is dependent on a combination of socio-demographic factors and the present study reveals a high prevalence rate of partial edentulism in the studied population.

Needs and demands of prosthetic treatment among two groups of individuals.

Objectives: The level of knowledge, awareness, and attitude about teeth-replacement options among a group of medical and paramedical subjects and to compare them with the general population. Materials and Methods: A self-administered questionnaires using simple Arabic language were distributed to two groups of subjects. Questions focused on the willingness to replace the missing teeth, the preferable methods of choice for replacement, and the reasons for these choices. The first group (G-I) was from the medical and paramedical staff who work in a military hospital at Jordan Royal medical services, the dental staff was excluded from the study. The other group (G-II) was from the general population who attended the dental department in the same hospital with comparable level of education. All the participants were partially edentulous excluding the third molars. Clinical examination was done by qualified prosthodontist to evaluate the possible prosthetic treatment options for replacement. A total of 612 questionnaires were distributed, of which 533 questionnaires were returned (response rate 87.09%). The results were analyzed and comparison was made between the two groups. Results: Responses to questions about awareness and attitude about prosthetic management of missing teeth revealed that G-I have more awareness than G-II to the probable causes for tooth/teeth replacement and limitation of the preferable method for replacement (P<0.05). More than 80% of the participants believed that replacement of anterior teeth is more important than the posterior teeth. Implants and fixed partial denture (FPD), respectively, were more preferable than removable prosthesis, although clinically was not indicated in cases (P<0.05). There was no clinical benefit from replacement of missing teeth in 33.4% while only 6% believe this. Conclusions: This study showed that the awareness and attitude between the medical and paramedical staff to prosthetic needs is better than between general populations. The demands for dental replacement by patients were significantly different when compared with the actual needs.

Análisis de las alteraciones de la posición de los dientes artificiales de prótesis totales maxilares en función del tamaño del arco / Analysis of position alterations in artificial teeth of maxillary complete dentures in function of the arch size

El propósito de este trabajo fue analizar en prótesis totales maxilares la influencia del tamaño de los arcos en el movimiento de dientes artificiales cuando los mismos se someten a las inclusiones con barrera de yeso tipo IV (especial), polimerizado en microondas y medidas gráficamente por computadora. Veinte y una réplicas de prótesis que se habían construido previamente, fueran divididos en tres grupos: grupo 1, constituido de 7 prótesis maxilares del tamaño pequeño; grupo 2, constituido de 7 prótesis de tamaño medio y, grupo 3, de gran tamaño. Las prótesis habían sido medidas en puntos demarcados previamente en los dientes, con un programa de computación gráfica, después del encerado y después de la polimerización y demuflado. La diferencia entre la medida, en las dos etapas, demostró la ocurrencia de pequeñas alteraciones. Fue concluido, del punto de vista estadístico, que no ha tenido diferencias significativas en las alteraciones de la posición de dientes, en los tres tamaños de modelos estudiados.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of maxillary arch size on the artificial teeth movement in complete dentures. The maxillary dentures were processed with a barrier-type IV gypsum molding technique, and polymerized by microwave energy. Twenty one dentures were fabricated and equally divided into 3 groups, according to maxillary residual ridge size: G1) small; G2) medium and G3) large size. Reference points were made on the incisal edges of the central incisors and the supporting cusps of the premolar and second molar teeth. Linear distances among reference points, in a horizontal plane, were measured with a computer program (Auto cad 2000) before and after processing denture. Although there were differences between measurements, indicating some movement degree among artificial teeth, the results showed no statistical significantly differences among three groups studied. It was concluded that the maxillary arch size has not influence on the artificial teeth position.