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Muscle activity and masticatory efficiency with bilateral extension base removable partial dentures with different
1Professor and Senior Consultant, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; and Professor, The City of London School of Dentistry, London, United Kingdom.
The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry
|June 25, 2017
Summary
Removable partial dentures with nonanatomic teeth reduce chewing efficiency and increase muscle activity compared to anatomic or semianatomic teeth. This impacts overall masticatory performance.
Area of Science:
- Dental prosthetics
- Biomechanics
- Oral physiology
Background:
- Masticatory efficiency and muscle activity can be influenced by artificial tooth design and food texture.
- The impact of different cusp angles in removable partial dentures (RPDs) on these factors remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate how RPDs with varying cusp angles (anatomic, semianatomic, nonanatomic) affect masticatory efficiency.
- To assess the influence of these RPD designs on masseter and temporalis muscle activity during mastication of different textured foods.
Main Methods:
- Twelve participants with RPDs underwent masticatory efficiency and electromyographic (EMG) testing.
- Surface EMGs recorded masseter and temporalis muscle activity during mastication of varied test foods.
- Statistical analysis using ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test (α=.05).
Main Results:
- RPDs with nonanatomic teeth demonstrated significantly lower masticatory efficiency compared to anatomic and semianatomic designs.
- No significant difference in masticatory efficiency was found between anatomic and semianatomic teeth.
- Muscle activity (EMG) was significantly higher with nonanatomic teeth RPDs than with anatomic or semianatomic ones.
Conclusions:
- Nonanatomic RPD teeth are associated with reduced masticatory efficiency.
- Higher EMG muscle activity was observed with nonanatomic RPD teeth compared to anatomic or semianatomic designs.
- RPD cusp angle significantly impacts masticatory performance and muscle recruitment.
