Oral chronic mechanical irritation caused by removable dentures as a contributing factor for fibromatous growth of the oral mucosa

Abstract

Introduction: Oral chronic mechanical irritations (OCMI) may be triggered by poorly fitting or badly adjusted dentures. They may represent an etiological factor for developing fibromatous growth of the oral mucosa. The aim of the study is to determine the presence of reactive soft tissue enlargements, caused by removable dentures, as a contributing factor for fibromatous growth. Materials and methods: 60 patients (30 male and 30 female) were examined at the Department of Prosthetic Dental Medicine at the Medical University of Varna over the period of September - No­vember 2017. The patients had sought dental assistance to have their old dentures replaced. All par­ticipants in the research signed an Informed Consent. The mean age of the patients was 65 ± 12. The selection criteria was having removable dentures for over 5 years. All patients had their medical his­tory taken and a thorough extra- and intraoral examination was performed. The statistical analy­sis was carried out using SPSS Statistics Software Package for epidemiological and clinical research. Results: The total number of dentures that had caused fibromatous growth came down to 112 (54 maxillary and 58 mandibular dentures). All participants (100%) denied the presence of subjective complaints and none of them (0%) had sought special dental care regarding the mucosal enlarge­ments. Conclusions: The accurate borders of removable dentures play a significant role in reducing the risk of connective tissue growth and the prevention of subsequent complications (fibroma). The research found out that various forms of tissue growth were present in 86.96% of participants.