Effects of improvements of poorly fitting dentures and new dentures on patient satisfaction

Clinicians reline or replace dentures to improve occlusion, stability, retention and facial support. They believe that well-fitting dentures will maintain supporting tissues in good health and satisfy patients by improving oral function and self-esteem. In this study, satisfaction of 21 patients with poorly fitting dentures was assessed before and after the dentures were modified to improve occlusion, vertical dimension of occlusion, and retention and stability or the dentures were replaced with new ones. More than 55% of the patients were moderately to fully satisfied with their poorly fitting dentures. Most patients perceived improvements in chewing comfort, chewing ability, eating enjoyment, food choices, security, and speech after each denture modification and with new dentures. The relative importance of the four sequential modifications could not be determined because they were made sequentially and their effects became cumulative. Chewing ability, eating enjoyment, particles under dentures, and food choices were highly correlated with chewing comfort and overall patient satisfaction. The results support the belief of many clinicians that patients benefit from relining of poorly fitting dentures or replacement with new dentures. Improvements in chewing function were perceived by most patients despite the lack of improvement in masticatory performance or masseter muscle activity with modified or new dentures. It is likely that denture wearers perceive chewing ability in terms of chewing comfort rather than ability to comminute food, an objective measure of chewing performance. The latter is not altered markedly by the clinical excellence of dentures.