1.Assessment of swallowing and masticatory performance in obturator wearers: a clinical study.
Nungotso VERO ; Niraj MISHRA ; Balendra Pratap SINGH ; Kamleshwar SINGH ; Sunit Kumar JUREL ; Vijay KUMAR
The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics 2015;7(1):8-14
PURPOSE: To assess function by identifying changes in swallowing and masticatory performance in maxillary obturator prosthesis wearers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty subjects were recruited for the study, of which 20 were obturator wearers, 20 were completely dentulous and 20 had removable partial/complete dentures with similar Eichner's Index. Swallowing ability was evaluated with and without obturator using the "Water Drinking Test"; Masticatory performance was evaluated with the Sieve test; and maximum occlusal force was recorded with the help of a digital bite sensor. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 15.0 with a confidence level at 95%. RESULTS: Profile, behavior of drinking and time taken to drink were significantly improved (P<.001) in subjects after wearing obturator. Masticatory performance was not significantly different (P=.252) in obturator wearer when compared with dentulous or removable partial/complete denture wearer, but significantly (P<.001) high inter group difference in maximum occlusal force existed. Correlation between masticatory performance and maximum occlusal force was not significant (P=.124). CONCLUSION: Swallowing ability was significantly improved after wearing obturator but masticatory performance was not significantly different from those having similar occlusal support zone in their dentition.
Bite Force
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Deglutition*
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Dental Restoration Wear
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Dentition
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Dentures
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Drinking
;
Mastication
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Prostheses and Implants
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Social Sciences