The Effect of a New Denture Adhesive on Bite Force Until Denture Dislodgement

PURPOSE: Denture adhesives are used to improve the denture retention and comfort of complete denture wearers. The purpose of this investigation was to establish the effect of a new denture adhesive on maximum bite force until denture dislodgement (BFDD) after adhesive application. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen denture-wearing patients (7 female, 8 male, mean age: 64 years) were involved in the study. The BFDD measurements were performed using a disposable gnathometer with a 1 to 10 scale. During one of the treatment sessions, the maximum BFDD with the pre-existing maxillary dentures using denture adhesive were measured. The measurements were also made at the baseline without adhesive and after the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th hours following the application of the denture adhesive. The same procedure was applied to the new dentures about 2 weeks after the delivery of the dentures. The data were collected and statistically analyzed using ANOVA and Student's t-test. RESULTS: Consistent improvement was observed in BFDD when adhesive was used for all time intervals from the baseline (mean: 1.54 units, 3.20 units) to 6 hours (mean: 3.99 units, 4.60 units) for both pre-existing dentures (p= 0.003) and new dentures (p= 0.05), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this in vivo study suggest that the denture adhesive tested could effectively increase BFDD for up to 6 hours after application.