A randomized clinical trial of two basic removable partial denture designs. Part II: Comparisons of masticatory scores.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: There is no known data on the functional efficacy of different removable partial denture designs. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial compared the masticatory performance of two commonly used designs in 118 patients who needed a unilateral or bilateral mandibular partial denture. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One half of the patients received a partial denture with distal occlusal rests and cast circumferential clasps and the other half a partial denture with mesial rests and I-bar cast clasps. The left side, right side, and swallowing threshold masticatory tests were made with peanuts and carrots before treatment and 16 weeks after the prosthesis insertion (baseline) and thereafter at 6, 18, 36, and 60 months. RESULTS: Masticatory scores at entry were higher in the circumferential design group, but the only significant (p < 0.05) difference was found in the right side carrot performance. Both groups realized significant improvements (p < 0.001) in all performance scores with partial dentures. Mean improvements of 24.7 with peanuts and 35.8 with carrots in the right side performance scores and 19.0 in the swallowing threshold score with peanuts in the bar design group were significantly higher (p = 0.017) than the respective mean improvements of 15.9, 21.4, and 5.6 in the circumferential design group. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups for any of the 10 performance scores at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Despite some performance differences at entry, the mean performance scores for the two groups became similar at baseline and at subsequent intervals.

Veterans Administration Cooperative Dental Implant Study--comparisons between fixed partial dentures supported by blade-vent implants and removable partial dentures. Part V: Comparisons of pretreatment and posttreatment dietary intakes.

PROBLEM: Good scientific evidence is lacking on the impact of improvement in masticatory function after prosthodontic restoration of missing teeth. PURPOSE: This study compares 1-week dietary intakes of 218 healthy, male patients, 111 patients restored with mandibular unilateral or bilateral distal base extension removable partial dentures and 107 patients with fixed partial dentures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Dietary logs recorded before the initiation of treatment and 6-months after the baseline period after partial denture treatment were analyzed for 30 nutritional variables of food intakes including total calories, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, fiber, and a number of vitamins and minerals. RESULTS: Both before and after treatment, intakes of various nutrients were more than 25% above or below the RDAs for approximately half of the patients in both groups. No significant differences were observed between the mean scores of the two groups for any of the 30 variables either before or after treatment. However, beneficial treatment effects were seen in subsets of patients with low and high caloric intakes at entry. Both treatments increased the intakes of calories and 27 nutrients in the low caloric group and decreased the intakes of calories and 27 nutrients in the high caloric group. The decreases in the caloric intake and eight nutrients, including total protein, fat, carbohydrates, and cholesterol, were significantly greater (p < 0.05) in the fixed partial denture group than those in the removable partial denture group. CONCLUSIONS: These beneficial effects of partial dentures, if verified by other studies, may have profound clinical implications for the undernourished and obese patients.

A randomized clinical trial of two basic removable partial denture designs. Part I: Comparisons of five-year success rates and periodontal health.

A randomized clinical trial was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of two partial denture designs, one with I-bar (bar) and the other with circumferential retainers (circumferential), in 134 patients with Kennedy class I and class II edentulous conditions. A total of 30 partial dentures were considered failures, five because of abutment failures and 25 because of the lack of removable partial denture use for eating. The 5-year success rate of 71.3% for the circumferential design did not differ significantly from the 76.6% for the bar design (p > 0.05). There were no discernible changes in the nine periodontal health components of abutment teeth with either of the two designs after 60 months. The results indicate that the two designs do not differ significantly in terms of success rates, maintenance care, and effects on abutment teeth. A well-constructed removable partial denture of either design, supported by favorable abutments and accompanied by a regular recall program offers a satisfactory treatment modality.

Comparisons of tactile thresholds between implant-supported fixed partial dentures and removable partial dentures.

This study compared the tactile sensitivity of splinted abutment and denture teeth of 16 fixed partial dentures (FPD) supported by blade implants and 16 removable partial dentures (RPD) in patients with Kennedy Class I and Class II edentulous conditions. No significant differences were noted between the tactile thresholds of the natural abutment teeth and artificial teeth in the FPD and RPD groups. The splinted abutment teeth required 45.4 g, or 5.4 to 5.8 times higher occlusal loads than did those needed for the comparable nonsplinted teeth, to detect the stimulus. A further increase of 54% in thresholds with the FPD and over 100% with the placement of the RPD indicated the superiority of the RPD in terms of load distribution as a result of the cross-arch splinting and mucosal support. Moderate positive correlations (r = 0.37 to 0.46; P < .05) between tactile thresholds and masticatory performance were found, signifying that reduced tactile perception was not responsible for the incomplete restoration of the masticatory function with RPDs or FPDs but might be contributing to increased masticatory performance within both treatment groups.

Blood pressure and electrocardiographic response to dental treatment with use of local anesthesia.

The incidence of ST segment depression during tooth extraction was significantly higher in patients with cardiac disease than it was in patients without cardiac disease, indicating that the cardiac patients experienced myocardial ischemia. The almost equivalent incidence of ST segment depression during anesthetic administration and surgery suggests that the administration of local anesthetic is as stressful as tooth extraction for cardiac patients. Medical consultation before dental treatment and use of stress-reduction techniques may be indicated for patients with or suspected to have cardiac disease.