Predictors of Satisfaction with Dentures in a Cohort of Individuals Wearing Old Dentures: Functional Quality or Patient-Reported Measures?

Purpose: To examine the extent to which denture satisfaction can be determined by a measure of the denture's functional quality and by patient-reported measures. Materials and Methods: This study used data obtained from 117 edentulous individuals with a mean age of 73.7 (SD = 5.6) years in southern Brazil. The edentulous individuals rated their levels of general satisfaction with their actual dentures, using a visual analog scale. Explanatory variables included the individual's information about ability to chew, ability to speak, esthetics, and sociodemographic factors. The dentures were evaluated using the validated 9-item Functional Assessment of Dentures instrument. Bivariate statistical analyses and Poisson regression models (prevalence ratio [PR]; 95% CI; p < 0.05) were used to test the association of explanatory variables with patients' general satisfaction with their complete dentures. Results: There was a statistically significant association between patients' general satisfaction and stability of maxillary (rocking movement) (adjusted PR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.07-1.52) and mandibular dentures (occlusal displacement) (adjusted PR = 1.68; 95% CI: 1.16-2.43), masticatory ability (adjusted PR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.08-2.19), and the age of the mandibular denture (adjusted PR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.10-1.97). Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that measures of denture stability, masticatory ability, and age of dentures appeared to be determinants of patients' satisfaction with dentures.