[Analysis of occlusion and stability in complete dentures]

The prosthetic treatment of edentulous patients must be carried out with the dual objective of preserving the residual ridges and re-establishing the functional activities of the masticatory system. The authors propose to investigate the subjective efficiency of the prosthesis by an interview of the patients, and the objective efficiency by clinical testing, after one year of use. In this study, a group of 41 patients, males and females, are supplied with bimaxillary full dentures according to GERBER's technique. Special attention is given to the teeth position in relation to the base stabilisation surface. The teeth likely to unbalance the prostheses were not mounted. The inter-maxillary relationship at the horizontal level was obtained by using a gothic arch recording. After one year of use, the following results were obtained: patients very satisfied with their upper denture: 43.9%; patients very satisfied with their lower denture: 39%; satisfied: 51% for the upper denture; satisfied: 56.1% for the lower denture; not satisfied: 4.9% for the two dentures. Only 12 patients (29.2%) had all of their posterior teeth put in. The decrease in the number of teeth did not reveal any significant decrease in the mastication efficiency, according to the patients opinion (2.4%). The original occlusion was restored in 78% of the cases. The authors emphasized the importance of the occlusal relationship and of the posterior teeth for stability and efficiency in the treatment of edentulous patients.