Complication rates and patient satisfaction with removable dentures

PURPOSE: The purpose of this clinical study was to evaluate the frequency and type of prosthetic complications in relation to type and properties of removable dentures and to investigate the influence of these complications and several data about the existing dentures on patient satisfaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety nine patients (44 males and 55 females) wearing removable dentures have been included in the study. The complications of the patients were recorded; patient satisfaction was determined with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the relationship of complications and patient satisfaction with several data about the dentures such as denture age, type of denture, centric relation and vertical dimension was investigated. Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney U and Chi square tests were used for statistical analyses. The results were evaluated statistically at a significance level of P<.05. RESULTS: Need for addition of artificial teeth for dentures with correct centric relations was found to be significantly lower than dentures with wrong centric relations (P<.01). Loss of retention, ulcerations and high vertical dimension affected the VAS chewing ability scores negatively and ulcerations affected the VAS phonation scores negatively (P<.05). CONCLUSION: Considering the results of this study, it can be concluded that loss of retention, ulcerations and high vertical dimension caused patient dissatisfaction. Additionally, dentures with wrong centric relations caused need for addition of artificial teeth.