A retrospective study of inhibitory factors for suction-effective mandibular complete dentures

Abstract

A suction-effective mandibular complete denture, which builds negative pressure on the interior surface by creating an effective seal around the entire border of the denture base with the oral mucosa, is resistant to lifting during mouth opening, and thus provides excellent clinical results in mandibular complete denture fabrication for fully edentulous patients. However, den ture suction cannot be achieved in all cases. A questionnaire survey was conducted to identify and examine potential risk factors for denture suction. Results: The extent of alveolar ridge resorp tion, amount of spongy tissue in the sublingual fold region, retromylohyoid fossa space available for denture base extension, shape of the retromolar pad, tongue retraction, and occlusal stability were identified as risk factors. The success rate of denture suction was significantly decreased when these factors were less favorable. There was no significant difference in the success rate with or without mandibular tori. The overall success rate of mandibular complete denture suc tion was 86.9％. Conclusion: These findings suggest that it is important to pay attention to the 6 risk factors during patient examination and diagnosis in order to achieve a high success rate of mandibular complete denture suction.