Lower gravitational dentures: alternative treatment for atrophic ridges

Resumen

Stability of conventional lower prostheses (CP) is affected by excessive mandibular resorption, the greater weight of a gravitational prosthesis (GP) caused by its combination of metal (internal) and acrylic (external) can increase said stability. Objective: In patients with mandibular atrophic ridge, to compare stability, masticatory performance, weight and perception of CP in comparison with GP. Material and methods: Informed consent of six adult edentulous patients was requested. Residual lower ridge height was measured in mm. Identical CP and GP were manufactured for each patient: fi rstly, one was used, and then the other, each one for same periods of time. At the end of prostheses use, a Likert type survey was conducted, as well as analogous visual scale (AVS) measuring clinical stability (Woelfel scale), MP (particle mean size with artifi cial test foodstuff) as well as prostheses weight in grams. Wilcoxon ranking test was used as well as Spearman’s correlations (p = 0.05). Results: Signifi cant differences were found in the clinical stability test (p = 0.046) favoring GP. Correlation among variables analysis indicates that to lesser movement, greater ease for speech and food processing was found. No statistically signifi cant difference was found in MP (p = 0.893). Conclusions: In spite of limitations imposed by sample size, results indicated that GP were more stable and could represent a suitable treatment alternative for patients who are not candidates for surgery or suffer fi nancial limitations.