Performance of complete dentures fabricated with the simplified and the traditional technique: A randomized clinical trial

Statement of problem. The simplified technique has been recommended for the fabrication of removable complete dentures. However, a consensus regarding the performance of the simplified and the traditional techniques is lacking. Purpose. The purpose of this randomized clinical trial was to compare the performance of prostheses fabricated with the simplified and the traditional techniques. Material and methods. Sixty participants were recruited and randomized into 2 groups: traditional technique (control group) and simplified technique (experimental group). The assessments were performed before treatment (baseline) and 2 and 4 months after adaptation to the new complete dentures. The variables evaluated were satisfaction, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) by using the Brazilian version of the OHIP-EDENT, the quality of the prostheses, and, for the functional assessment, the masticatory performance and swallowing threshold. The data were analyzed by the Fisher exact test, the Mann-Whitney test, and the generalized equations estimating (GEE) method. Results. At baseline, the mean +/- standard deviation quality of the prostheses was 5.3 +/- 2.3 for the traditional technique and 4.9 +/- 2.3 for the simplified technique, and at 4 months, it was 9.3 +/- 0.9 and 9.1 +/- 0.9, respectively. For masticatory performance, the mean +/- standard deviation X-50 at baseline was 5.7 +/- 1.4 for the traditional technique and 5.7 +/- 0.9 for the simplified technique, and at 4 months, it was 3.8 +/- 1.2 and 3.7 +/- 0.9, respectively. The mean +/- standard deviation OHRQoL at baseline was 14.1 +/- 8.6 for the traditional technique and 12.5 +/- 9.4 for the simplified technique, and at 4 months, it was 3.2 +/- 4.3 and 2.6 +/- 5.1, respectively. The mean +/- standard deviation satisfaction at baseline was 9.5 +/- 3.9 for the traditional technique and 9.3 +/- 4.2 for the simplified technique; after 4 months, it was 14.8 +/- 2.0 for both techniques. There was a significant improvement (P<.05) for all variables in the study when comparing them at the baseline to those at the evaluation after provision of new complete dentures. There was no significant difference in all analyzed variables (P>.05) between the 2 techniques for prosthesis fabrication. Conclusions. The simplified technique appears to be a suitable alternative to the traditional technique for the fabrication of complete dentures, with similar performance.