The purpose of this study was to investigate, longitudinally, the ratio of occlusal force distribution between abutment tooth and alveolar ridge in removable partial denture patients.
The subjects in this study were 5 females with a maxillary complete denture and a mandibular complete overdenture.
The occlusal force acting on the artificial teeth was measured with the occlusal force transducer and the vertical force exerted on the abutment tooth was measured by the specially designed transducer installed in the denture base. They were simultaneously recorded and the ratio between them (V/O ratio) were determined.
A half month after the insertion of dentures in three subjects, the V/O ratio decreased. In the other subjects, it remained constant. After this initial period, the ratio stayed constant in every subject and the value of the ratio was determined to be 0.1-0.4 when the transducer made direct contact with the abutment tooth. In the case when a space existed between the transducer and the abutment tooth, the value was determined to be less than 0.1.