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 ( U = 0.85; L = 0.61) and removable maxillary and mandibular partial dentures ( U = 0.45; L = 0.62)

Influence of Occlusal Interference on the Prevalence of Temporomandibular Disorders

The significance of occlusal interference in the etiology of temporomandibular disorders has been questioned in numerous recent articles. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the clinical signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in a young male nonpatient population and to investigate a possible association between the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders and occlusal interference. A questionnaire including data from history and clinical functional examination was used in the study. All subjects (a total of 230) were male (army recruits), of 19 to 28 years of age (mean 21.3). Temporomandibular joint clicking was reported in 91 subjects, temporomandibular joint pain on palpation and functional loading in 78 subjects, masticatory muscle pain on palpation and functional loading in 58 subjects, tension type headache in 30 subjects, and mandibular deviation on opening and closing movements greater than 2 mm in 43 subjects. The prevalence of occlusal interference in percentage in 230 young adults, 65% had no occlusal interference during examination of the functional state of occlusion, while 14%subjects had centric slide between centric relation and maximum intercuspation, 5% subjects had working side interference and 16% subjects had non-working side interference during lateral and protrusive mandibular movements. Clinical signs and symptoms were correlated with occlusal interference, although their correlation cannot be considered unique or dominant in definition of a temporomandibular disorder population

The Satisfaction with the Removable Partial Denture Therapy in the Croatian Adult Population

Little is known about the outcomes of treatment and patient’s satisfaction with removable partial dentures in adult Croatian population. Therefore patient’s satisfaction with their partial dentures in relation to some socio-economic variables was studied. Patient’s satisfaction with denture retention, speech, aesthetics, comfort of wearing dentures, chewing ability was also studied in relation to different denture classification, construction, material, denture base shape (major connectors), denture support and the number of missing teeth. A total of 165 patients, 59 males and 105 females between 38 and 87 years took part in this study. A questionnaire, devised for a purpose of the study, was divided into three parts. In the first part, patients answered questions about age, gender, marital status, education, general health, socio-economic status, self-supporting life, period of tooth loss and number of previous denture experiences and in the second part, patients graded their partial dentures, depending on the level of satisfaction, by using a scale from 1 to 5. In the third part a dentist determined Kennedy classification and their modifications, denture material and denture support, denture base shape and the number of missing teeth and graded a denture construction. Influence of these factors on patient’s satisfaction was analyzed. A majority of the examined patients were satisfied with the partial prosthesis, but a small amount of dissatisfaction existed. More then half of them scored all the examined parameters to the best score category. Considering chewing with lower partial dentures, women were more satisfied than men (p <0.05). Patients with more missing teeth gave lower grades for the comfort of wearing dentures (p<0.05). Patients of higher education gave lower grades (p<0.05) for the aesthetics. Patients were not satisfied with speech if the dentist graded a construction of alower partial denture low (p<0.05). Dissatisfaction was related to mastication, aesthetics, number of missing teeth and ability of speech. These findings can aid a clinician in discussing a treatment plan and help a patient understand the risk of dissatisfaction in the presence of certain factors