Effect of ageing and tooth loss on sensory function of alveolar mucosa

Maintaining quality of life of elderly denture wearers is one of the most crucial tasks for dentists in the super-aged society. Although external mechanical load on removable dentures has been investigated to minimise a risk of soreness caused by dentures, sensory perception of the alveolar mucosa remains obscure.

This study aimed to investigate effect of ageing and tooth loss in sensory function on the alveolar mucosa for deep understanding of the characteristics of pain sensitivity in edentulous individuals.

Eighteen edentulous participants (ED), as well as 18 age-matched dentate participants (EC) and 18 young dentate participants (YC), participated in this study. Tactile detection threshold (TDT) and pain threshold (PT) were measured with von Frey filaments (0.125-512 mN). Mechanical pain sensitivity (MPS) after a 2-sec application of 1 kg palpation was assessed with a 0-50-100 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) (0: no pain, 50: slight pain and 100: the worst pain imaginable). Furthermore, entropy scores of TDT, PT and NRS on MPS were calculated.

In both maxilla and mandible, EC showed significantly higher TDT and PT, compared with YC, whereas ED showed significantly lower TDT and PT, compared with EC. NRS on MPS in ED was significantly higher than that in EC. The entropy scores of all the outcome parameters showed no significant difference between groups.

Both ageing and tooth loss can alter tactile and pain perception in the oral mucosa. This suggests that it might be beneficial to assess sensory function of the alveolar mucosa in edentulous patients clinically in prior to denture fabrication.