Jaw elevator silent periods in complete denture wearers and dentate individuals.

Functional meaning and underlying mechanisms of jaw elevator silent period (SP) have still not been completely understood. Since complete denture wearers (CDWs) have no periodontal receptors in their jaws, the aim was to examine SPs in CDWs and to compare it with dentate individuals (DIs). Thirty six DIs (skeletal/occlusal Class I) and 24 eugnath CDWs participated. EMG signals were registered using the EMGA-1 apparatus from the left and the right side anterior temporalis (ATM) and masseter muscles (MM). Ten registrations of an open-close-clench (OCC) cycle were obtained for each individual. DIs had the average latency between 12.5 and 12.9 ms and always one single short inhibitory pause (IP) with complete inhibition of motoneurons (20.1-21.1 ms). On the other hand, in CDWs various types of SPs emerged: single or single prolonged SPs, double SPs, SPs with three IPs, periods of depressed muscle activity following the first, or the second IP, SPs with relative inhibition of motoneurons or even in several registrations the SP was missing. Unless more than one IP emerged, complete duration of inhibitory pauses (CDIP) was measured. CDIP varied from 37.17 to 42.49 ms. Average latencies were from 16.22 to 16.76 ms. Based on the results of this study it is obvious that both, the duration and the latencies were significantly longer in CDWs than in DIs (p<0.05), which can be explained by different mechanisms responsible for the muscle reflex behaviour.

A survey of treatment outcomes with removable partial dentures.

The patient's satisfaction with removable partial denture (RPD) therapy has become an increasingly important factor in prosthetic treatment. This study examined patients' satisfaction with RPDs in relation to some socio-economic variables, patients' habits of wearing and cleaning RPDs, comfort of wearing RPDs and different RPDs characteristics. A questionnaire was devised for the purpose. Two hundred and five patients were required to assess satisfaction with RPDs. They graded RPDs, depending on the level of satisfaction, on scale ranging from 1 to 5. A dentist determined Kennedy classification, material and denture support, denture base shape, number of missing teeth and evaluated denture construction. Majority of the patients were satisfied with the prosthesis. The patients of a higher education level gave lower grades (P < 0.05) to aesthetics of maxillary RPDs. Almost half of the patients were wearing RPDs during the day. Most of the patients cleaned RPDs three times a day. A significant difference was found between the patients' grades for comfort of wearing mandibular RPDs and number of missing teeth and between hygiene of mandibular RPDs and habits of cleaning them. Majority of the patients treated with RPDs were satisfied with the prosthesis. Dissatisfaction was related to mastication, esthetics, number of missing teeth and maintenance of oral hygiene.

Influence of age and gender on radiomorphometric indices of the mandible in removable denture wearers.

The objective of this study was to measure and assess a number of radiomorphometric indices of the mandibular removable denture wearers taking into account age and gender. In a total of 136 dental panoramic radiographs (DPR) the following parameters were evaluated: MI = thickness of the mandibular cortex below the mental foramen, AI = thickness at the antegonion and GI = thickness at gonion; PMI = MI/distance between the low border of the mandible and the low border of the mental foramen, and MCI = mandibular cortical index, based on the assessment of the 3 categories of cortical appearance due to the resorptive changes. There were 40 male patients (mean age 72.7; range 56 to 84 years) and 96 female patients (mean age 69.7; range 48 to 86 years). Patients were grouped according to age into three age groups (1 = less than 65 years; 2 = 65-75 years; 3 = more than 75 years). The results revealed that MI, PMI, AI and GI showed a general downward trend with age for the both sexes until 75 years of age when the mean values of GI, AI and MI begun to fall down sharply for females compared to males. The difference was significant between age groups and gender for GI and AI. Only two categories (C2 and C3) of MCI have been recognized in our study sample, due to the relatively old age groups of patients with removable dentures. However, significantly higher incidence of C3 existed in the oldest group of females.

Evaluation of denture stomatitis in Croatian adult population.

Denture stomatitis (DS) is often found under the removable partial dentures (RPDs). There are many factors influencing it, such as patient's age and gender, smoking habits, denture age, denture material, denture wearing habits, denture hygiene habits, oral hygiene instruction, denture cleanness and denture plaque accumulation. The aim of this study was to find out the influence these factors have on the prevalence of DS under RPDs and complete dentures (CDs). A total of 200 patients took part in this study. Half of the examined patients (100) wore CD and the other half (100) RPDs. There were 63 males and 137 females, aged between 45 and 83 years. Different smoking habits, denture wearing habits, denture hygiene habits, denture cleanness and oral hygiene instructions had significant influence on the degree of DS in CD wearers (p < 0.01). In the RPD wearers, denture material and denture support had a significant influence on DS (p < 0.01). The significant correlation was found between the denture plaque accumulation and the DS in complete maxillary and mandibular (rhoU = 0.85; rhoL = 0.61) and removable maxillary and mandibular partial dentures (rhoU = 0.45; rhoL = 0.62).