The nocturnal use of complete dentures and sleep stability in edentulous elders

To evaluate the stability of sleep quality and the impact of nocturnal use of complete dentures on sleep quality in an elderly edentulous population over a one-year period.

Written informed consent was obtained from 172 edentulous elders who agreed to enrol in a longitudinal cohort study. A total of 153 participants completed the follow-up after one year. Perceived quality of sleep and daytime sleepiness were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, score 0-21) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS, score 0-24) at baseline (T0) and at follow-up (T1). Data on oral health related quality of life, type of mandibular dentures (conventional versus implant-retained mandibular overdenture), nocturnal wear of the dentures and socio-demographic status were obtained by means of the OHIP-20 questionnaire, a clinical examination form and a socio-demographic questionnaire.

No statistically significant differences were detected in the global PSQI mean scores and EES mean scores from baseline (PSQI 4.77 ± 3.32; EES 5.35 ± 3.72) to the follow-up assessment (PSQ1 5.04 ± 3.50; EES 5.53 ± 4.34). Edentate elders wearing prostheses at night had poorer daytime sleepiness scores than those who removed their prostheses at night (p=0.003 unadjusted model; p=0.058 adjusted for age, gender, type of prosthesis and the OHIP-20 total score).

Results of this study suggest that wearing complete dentures while sleeping has little effect on sleep quality or daytime sleepiness.