Association Between Masticatory Functionality, Prosthetic Resources and Immediate Oral Functionality in the Elderly

The world population presents an accelerated aging process. Older people have a higher prevalence of oral diseases, such as periodontal disease and caries, which cause tooth loss, negatively affecting their Masticatory Function (MF), and causing Oral Hypofunction (OH). Users of defective removable prostheses present alterations in oral functionality (OF) that are associated with a loss of prosthetic biomechanical conditions. Prosthetic functionalization seeks to restore OF through specific clinical interventions in older people, improving their quality of life and improving MF, preventing the development of OH. The objective of the study was to identify the need for prosthetic resources to recover OF immediately, and its association with the loss of MF in wearers of defective removable prostheses. The total sample was comprised of n= 61 elderly (37 women and 24 men) aged 70 years and/or over (79.8 ± 6.3), with prosthetic requirements. MF was determined using the Eichner Index (EI), which categorizes the sample into B3, B4, C1, C2, and C3. Clinical interventions to restore OF were classified and quantified in 3 categories: Base Relining (BR), Prosthetic Repairs (PR), and Occlusal Relining (OR). Univariate and multivariate linear regression models adjusted for sex and age were used for analysis. Category C1 needed more clinical interventions than other categories (4.0; p = 0.0351). Men needed more clinical interventions than women (H: 3.0, M: 2.0; p = 0.0083). All individuals categorized according to MF through the EI required at least one prosthetic BR (1.0; p = 0.2396); Individuals C1 and C3 needed prosthetic OR (1.0; p = 0.1535), however, the results were not significant. C1 individuals needed significantly more PR to return OF (3.0; p = 0.0034). There was an association between subjects with greater loss of MF measured by the EI and the number of clinical interventions, where the lower the MF, the more clinical procedures were performed to recover OF immediately.

KEY WORDS: oral functionality, removable dentures, elderly.