Removable denture-related oral mucosal lesions: descriptive clinical study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether there was a relationship between removable denture-related oral mucosal lesions and denture type, and demographic characteristics. Materials and Method: The age, sex, denture type, systemic condition and medication use, presence of denture-related oral mucosal lesions (DROML), their locations and patients’ awareness of above mentioned lesions were recorded for 199 patients. Pearson chi-square test was used to analyse the relationship between the DROML and denture type, and demographic characteristics of the patients. Results: Among the patients included to the study, 122 (61.3%) were female and 77 (38.7%) were male. Ninety-six patients (48.2%) exhibited DROML, whereas 103 patients (51.8%) had no DROML. No relationship was detected between DROML and age, and sex (p>0.05). The most commonly detected DROML was denture stomatitis (34.7%). Denture stomatitis was significantly more frequently seen in partial denture wearers (p<0.05), while epulis fissuratum and flabby ridge were statistically more frequent in complete denture wearers (p<0.001). Traumatic ulcer was more frequently found in mandibular complete denture wearers (p<0.05), while epulis fissuratum and flabby ridge were significantly more common in maxillary complete denture wearers (p<0.001). Among the patients with DROML, 57.3% stated that they were unaware of these lesions. Conclusion: In this study sample, the rate of DROML was high in patients wearing removable dentures (48.2%), and more than half of the patients with DROML were not aware of these lesions. Upon these findings, it is considered that removable denture wearers should follow the denture usage instructions and should be informed about the importance of periodic controls.

Keywords

• complete denture
• partial denture
• mouth diseases
• mouth mucosa
• denture stomatitis