Dentist and patient appraisal of complete dentures in a Dutch elderly population

The majority of the Dutch elderly population wears full dentures. According to clinical standards these dentures are often of a poor quality. The treatment demand, however, is small. The purpose of the present study is to describe the quality of dentures by means of clinical criteria on the one hand and judgments of the patients on the other. 131 denture-wearing individuals, with a mean age of 71, participated. A "denture quality" scale was constructed, consisting of five clinical parameters. The judgments of the respondents were recorded in terms of complaints and satisfaction with the dentures. The results show weak or nonsignificant correlations between the denture quality and the subjective measures. After dichotomizing the denture quality score (treatment need vs no treatment need), however, the poorer dentures appeared to be related to more complaints. It was concluded that for planning purposes it seems valid to use clinical figures. On the individual level the prediction of the subjective appraisal of full dentures on the basis of a clinical appreciation appears not to be adequate.