Oral comfort in shortened dental arches

In this study, the oral comfort was compared between subjects with shortened dental arches (SDA, n = 74), subjects with SDA and free-end removable partial dentures (SDA + RPD, n = 25) and subjects with complete dental arches (CDA, n = 72). Oral comfort was measured by (i) absence of pain or distress; (ii) chewing ability; (iii) appreciation of the appearance of the dentition. Additionally, the history of free-end RPD over a period of nearly 7 years was taken into consideration. On the whole, the results did not reveal any significant differences between the three groups with respect to pain or distress. Only 8% of the subjects with SDA reported impairment of chewing ability, and 11% had aesthetic complaints, due to missing posterior teeth in the upper jaw. Of the subjects with SDA + RPD, 20% had complaints about the RPD. In addition, the repeated necessity for repair or replacement of free-end RPD and the fact that some subjects (20%) stopped wearing the RPD during the observation period, confirm the poor performance of this dental provision. It is concluded that the oral comfort of subjects with SDA in this study is compromised to a small extent but remains on an acceptable level. Free-end RPDs do not appear to help oral comfort in these cases.