[A comparative study of masticatory efficiency and mandibular movement pattern among patients with CD, COD and IOD]

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Biomechanical Engineering
• Prosthodontics

Background:

• Complete tooth loss affects masticatory function and quality of life.
• Conventional complete dentures (CD) often provide suboptimal chewing efficiency.
• Alternative prosthetic solutions like complete overdentures (COD) and implant-supported overdentures (IOD) aim to improve function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare masticatory efficiency and mandibular movement patterns among patients using CD, COD, and IOD.
• To evaluate the impact of different denture types on chewing performance and jaw mechanics.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 42 subjects rehabilitated with CD, COD, or IOD (14 per group) after at least six months of use.
• Assessment of masticatory function through chewing efficiency tests (almond, jujube) and analysis of mandibular movement traces.
• Evaluation of mandibular movement characteristics including chewing cycle regularity, end trace centralization, contact slide type, and frontal plane trace type.

Main Results:

• Patients with IOD demonstrated significantly higher chewing efficiency for almond and jujube compared to CD patients (P < 0.01).
• COD patients showed improved almond chewing efficiency over CD patients (P < 0.01).
• A greater proportion of IOD patients exhibited regular chewing cycles (P < 0.05) and centralized end traces (P < 0.01) in their mandibular movements compared to CD and COD groups.

Conclusions:

• Both implant-supported overdentures (IOD) and complete overdentures (COD) enhance masticatory function for fully or partially edentulous individuals.
• Implant-supported overdentures (IOD) lead to more regular mandibular movements than complete dentures (CD).