Gingival Health Status of Abutment Teeth in Acrylic Removable Partial Denture

Abstract

Objective: To determine the change in gingival health status of removable partial dentures abutment tooth/teeth after 1month post-insertion   Study design and setting : Quasi-Experimental Study, Department of Prosthodontics, Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry Rawalpindi, from October 2021 to April 2022   Methodology: The patients underwent a thorough history and clinical examination after formal consent. Prior to recording the impression for provision of acrylic removable partial denture, the baseline scores for gingival index, plaque index and abutment teeth’s periodontal pocket depth were noted. After 30-days of placement of the acrylic removable partial denture, the patient was recalled for follow up and reassessment of score.   Results: Out of 90, there were 64 (71.1%) males and 26 (28.8%) females with average age of 31.1±5.8 years. The average value of plaque index at baseline was observed to be 0.39±0.03, while mean value of gingival index at baseline was found to be 0.19±0.01. At 30 days follow up, the mean value of plaque index significantly increased to 1.21±0.07 (p=0.001). Similarly, the mean value of gingival index after 30 days insertion of the acrylic removable partial denture significantly increased to 1.50±0.09 (p=0.001). No significant difference was observed between 30 days post-insertion indices between smokers and non-smokers, males and females, and <30 and >30 years age groups.   Conclusion: It is concluded that the gingival health of abutment teeth significantly gets affected due to removable partial denture. The plague and gingival index significantly worsen due to use of removable partial denture within a month’s time.