Introduction

Natural tooth loss, whether due to ageing or other factors, has a direct impact on the patient's functional as well as psychological behaviour. It is mostly seen as a subpar health-care issue that jeopardises one's quality of life. Although the number of edentulous patients is reducing because to increased awareness about oral health care, there are still a substantial number of denture wearer patients in nations like India. The most prevalent form of prosthetic rehabilitation for edentulous arches is complete dentures. In day-to-day practise, the most demanding and difficult dental treatment is still the proper care of complete denture patients who have persistent problems with their delivered prosthesis.^[1] Edentulism affects one-tenth to one-fifth of the general population, and almost half of the population over 65 years old. Natural teeth are lost for a variety of reasons during one's life. It has a substantial impact on the life, look, and function of patients and must be replaced with a detachable or fixed prosthesis.^[2] Complete dentures are necessary for rehabilitating the stomatognathic system by enhancing masticatory efficiency, phonetics, and aesthetic appearance in patients who are completely edentulous.^[3] The patient's expectations regarding their dentures have been the focus of attention. Patients may have overly high expectations for their dentures, assuming that they would be functionally equivalent to their original teeth.^[4] As a result, full denture follow-up care is critical since it aids in the correction of minor problems and complaints that may have negative consequences for the health of the denture supporting tissues.^[5] These consequences can be divided into two types: direct and indirect.^[6] Wearing a new complete denture might cause some problems, especially right after it is inserted. Lack of retention and stability, pain or discomfort, food collection under the denture, changed speech, trouble eating, unattractive look, and retching are all possible problems.^[7] Other complaints include bone resorption in edentulous alveolar ridges and occasionally tissue overgrowth under dentures, which is caused by the forces generated by the mandible during function and parafunction, as the mucosa is sandwiched between the denture base and the underlying bone, and thus all forces are transmitted through this atrophic tissue.^[8] The aim of this study was to evaluate complete denture wearers who were having problems with their prostheses.

Subjects and Methods

This current study was conducted in the department of dentistry at Gouri Devi Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital, Rajbandh, Durgapur during the period from September, 2018 to April, 2020. A total of 76 complete denture patients were selected and assessed from the rural area of Durgapur, comprising 45(59.2%) men and 31(40.8%) females in the age range of 57 to 72 years. The study only included people who had been wearing dentures for at least a year and a half. People with chronic or disabling diseases, such as diabetes, were not allowed to participate in the study. A self-structured questionnaire was created to learn about patient complaints about dentures. The findings were noted in pretested semi-structured proforma. Data analysis was performed with Microsoft Excel. Test results have been compiled and analyzed statistically. The SPSS for the window 22.0 has been used in the evaluation of the data . The significance of the difference in means scores was determined using the Student's t-test. At p 0.05, statistical significance was accepted.

Results

This current study was conducted in the department of dentistry at Gouri Devi Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital, Rajbandh, Durgapur. The overall study population was 76 participants from Durgapur district's rural areas, 45 (59.2%) of them were males and 31(40.8%) of whom were females. Males have a higher prevalence of chewing difficulties (62.2%), but females have a higher prevalence of sore patches (67.7%), according to [Figure 1]. Males (53.3%) and females (64.5%) both had low confidence levels [Figure 2]. Speech difficulty is a more common social problem among both boys (66.7%) and girls (61.3%), according to [Figure 3]. Oral stomatitis affects the majority of males (56.6%) and females (45.2%) [Figure 4].

Discussion

There has been a growing realization of the need of understanding the difficulties associated with the oral health of the elderly, as this will aid in treatment and future dental service planning. Only persons who wore complete dentures were included in the study population, which was drawn from a rural area. The initial wearing of a new complete denture is frequently linked with various issues, particularly in the first few weeks after the denture is inserted. Lack of looseness, mastication issues, pain or discomfort, changed speech, food accumulation, and foul breath are all possible causes of discomfort.^[7] The current analysis found that complete denture wearers have trouble eating, which is a more common concern among males (62.2%), whereas uncomfortable areas are more common among females (67.7 percent). It also reveals that low self-esteem, speaking difficulties, and oral stomatitis are all common issues among total denture wearers. Gosavi et al. did a cross-sectional study in 178 patients to look into the challenges that complete denture wearers encounter as well as the hygiene of their dentures. Mastication discomfort and denture looseness were the most common complaints, followed by lack of retention (35.4 percent), foul breath (29.8%), tongue constriction (26.4 percent), and food accumulation (26.4%) (24.7%).^[9] Singh et al. did a study to learn about the issues that complete denture wearers in rural Jammu district encounter. The majority of respondents reported trouble chewing, sore places, painful and swollen gums, difficulties speaking, low confidence, and low self esteem, according to the findings. Oral Stomatitis/Burning Mouth Syndrome, Superimposed infection, and Angular cheilitis were the most common conditions related with denture usage, according to clinical findings.^[10] Bekiroglu et al. did a study to observe and determine oral complaints in adults aged 55 and up, and found that halitosis was more prevalent in older people, particularly those over 75, and that women were more aware of halitosis than men.^[11] Another study found that the most prevalent complaints were pain when inserting or removing dentures, difficulty masticating their food, loose dentures, discomfort when speaking, ulceration, and restricted tongue space.^[12] According to Salih et al, pain (27%) was the most common problem in patients of both genders, loose denture complaint was lowest among males (5%), while complaint relating to mastication and eating was lowest among females (9%), speech problem had the highest incidence among patients aged up to 60 years (5.5%), and complaint relating to mastication and eating had the lowest incidence among females (9%). (22.5 percent). In both age categories, the complaint about eating and mastication had the lowest incidence (17%).^[13] To reduce the amount of denture-related complaints, patients must have a positive attitude toward adapting their dentures, which can be further developed by a clinician through good patient conditioning.

Conclusion

These findings revealed that the complete denture wearers have a wide range of challenges. These issues have an impact on the elderly's quality of life. There are still no accurate methods for predicting complete denture treatment outcomes, and there are numerous issues associated with total denture treatment. It is our responsibility as prosthodontists to diagnose and treat the underlying cause of a patient's suffering. Regular dental checkups and good oral hygiene can help to prevent these issues.