Complete denture intolerance in edentulous patients

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Background: It has been indicated that with a dissatisfied complete denture patient, the problem could well lie with the patient himself rather than the dentist's clinical skills. The aim of this study was to identify the difficult patient and assess the correlation between his satisfaction and the quality of the denture.
Materials and Methods: One hundred complete denture patients attending the prosthodontic clinic were interviewed at the adjustment stage. Their opinion concerning their present dentures were recorded and compared to a profound clinical evaluation of the dentures. Correlations between patient's satisfaction and the quality of the dentures were assessed to identify the difficult denture patients
Results: The results showed that the most common reason for complaint was pain (30%), followed by over extension (17%), lack of retention (7%), discomfort (6%), difficulty during chewing and speaking (4%), poor aesthetics (2%) and defective occlusion (1%) . The rest of the patients constituting 33% were satisfied with their dentures and had no difficulty adapting to them.
Conclusions: Out of a total of 100 patients, only 8 patients (2females and 6 males) had unrealistic demands and complaints. The other 92 were either satisfied or had justifiable complaints.
Keywords: Complaint, satisfaction, denture quality. (J Bagh Coll Dentistry 2006; 18(1) 17-19)