Changes in the Position of Anatomical Points, Cranio-Cervical Posture, and Nasopharyngeal Airspace Dimensions in...

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in anatomical point position, cranio-cervical posture, and respiratory dimensions following conventional bimaxillary total prosthetic rehabilitation. Methods: A prospective, longitudinal, observational, analytical study was conducted on 12 patients, aged 55 to 75 years, at the Department of Dental Prosthetics at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca. All patients had complete bimaxillary edentulism and received removable dentures as treatment. Clinical and cephalometric analyses were performed before and after prosthetic treatment to compare changes. The cephalometric analysis was based on the guidelines of Tweed and Rocabado for evaluation. Quantitative data were described using the mean and standard deviation for normal distribution and represented by bar graphs with error bars. A paired samples t-test was used to determine differences between groups, with a significance threshold of 0.05 for the bilateral p-value. Results: When analyzing changes in cranial base inclination, the corresponding angles exhibited an increase, indicating cephalic extension. A statistically significant difference in the anteroposterior diameter of the oropharyngeal lumen with and without bimaxillary complete dentures was identified (p < 0.05). For hyperdivergent patients, modifications in the position of anatomical features on cephalometry slightly reduced the VDO and had a slight compensatory effect on skeletal typology. In contrast, for hypodivergent patients, modifications to the position of anatomical landmarks also had a compensatory effect on skeletal typology, increasing the VDO. Conclusion: Changes in the position of anatomical features on cephalometry generally have a compensatory effect on skeletal typology after complete denture placement. Complete prosthetic treatment with removable dentures can significantly influence respiratory function by reducing the oropharyngeal lumen and body posture by cephalic extension and attenuation of the lordotic curvature of the cervical spine.