Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this 2- years cross-over study was to radiographically compare the influence of palatal contouring of maxillary denture on oro-pharyngeal airway space. Methods: The study was conducted on 20 healthy patients who were completely edentulous in the maxilla and mandible. All patients were randomly allocated in two equal groups to receive a mandibular denture opposed by a maxillary denture with either an arbitrary contoured palate (ACP) or a functional contoured palate (FCP) at the start of the study. The maxillary denture was exchanged after 1 year from insertion. The oropharyngeal volume (OPV) and minimum cross sectional area (CSA) were measured by using CBCT. Results: After 12 months of denture insertion, the mean OPV was more with FCP (29.9±3.1cm3) compared to ACP denture (24.9±2.2 cm3), also the mean CSA was more with FCP denture (363.7±67.3mm2) compared to ACP denture (286.5±65.8mm2). There was a high positive correlation between OPV and CSA with FCP denture ( r=0.90) and ACP denture (r= 0.61). Conclusion: Within this limited study, fabricating a complete denture with functionally contoured palatal surface may have a positive role in maintaining the oropharyngeal airway patency especially in old patients
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