A study of the impact of screening or selective radiography on the treatment and postdelivery outcome for edentulous patients

Abstract

Objective. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of radiographic findings on complete denture treatment and on the postdelivery course of those patients who had pretreatment radiographs (the screening group) and those who did not (the selection group). Method. In total, 375 cases were randomly selected by systematic sampling. Data collected included patient demographic information and denture history, predenture fabrication radiographic findings, and postdenture delivery complaints. Results. Of the screening patients, 100% had pretreatment radiographs made; this compared with 13.5% of the selection patients. In the screening group, 68.3% of patients had one or more positive radiographic findings recorded. Of the screening patients, 8.3% received treatment before denture fabrication; this compared with 1.2% of the selection patients. Of the 375 cases, 2 screening patients had postdelivery complaints that required management other than denture adjustment. Conclusion. The results indicate that there is weak scientific support for the guideline recommending routine pretreatment radiography for new denture patients.