抄録
Purpose : This study clarified the relationship between regular denture wear and neuroticism.
Materials and Methods : The subjects were 60 patients (28 males and 32 females) who underwent prosthodontic treatment using plate dentures made by the same dentist. Their mean age was 65.6±7.5 years. After adequate explanation of the purpose and importance of this study, psychological tests using the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) were performed with informed consent. The association between denture wear and neuroticism was evaluated.
Results : Fifty-five patients regularly wore their new dentures. The other patients (all were females) used dentures during meals but could not regularly wear them. The classification and distribution of the CMI neurosis areas were as follows : 34 patients (56.7%) were classified as Group I (psychologically normal), 20 (33.3%) as Group II (quasi-normal), 3 (5.0%) as Group III (quasi-neurotic), and 3 (5.0%) as Group IV (neurotic). The patients who could not regularly wear their dentures showed high values among the criteria for the discrimination of neuroses, i.e., inadequacy, depression, anxiety, anger, tension, cardiovascular system, fatigability, and frequency of illness. Many of them were classified as Group III (quasi-neurotic) or IV (neurotic).
Conclusion : Compared to patients who could regularly wear their dentures, those who could not regularly wear their dentures showed higher values for eight of the nine criteria for the discrimination of neuroses, which indicated marked neuroticism. These results suggested an association between patients who cannot regularly wear their dentures and neuroticism.
