Comparison of Chewing Ability between Complete Dentures with Lingualized Occlusion and Complete Dentures with Anatomic Bilateral Balanced Occlusion

Objective To compare the difference in chewing ability between complete dentures with lingualized occlusion and complete dentures with anatomic bilateral balanced occlusion.Methods The abilities to chew bread,dried tofu,carrots,apples,hard sausages,dried beef and egg fried rice were investigated and assessed using questionnaires and visual analogue scale(VAS) in 10 edentulous patients.The patients were treated successively with complete dentures with lingualized occlusion and complete dentures with anatomic bilateral balanced occlusion for 8 weeks.VAS scores were compared between the two treatments.Results The abilities to chew carrots and apples in patients with lingualized occlusion were significantly better than those in patients with anatomic bilateral balanced occlusion(P0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in abilities to chew other foods between the two treatments(P0.05).Conclusion Complete dentures with lingualized occlusion offers a superior level of masticatory performance for chewing hard and friable foods,compared with complete dentures with anatomic bilateral balanced occlusion.