Denture adhesives improve mastication in denture wearers.

Purpose: This clinical trial evaluated the influence of denture adhesive (DA) use on masticatory function in denture wearers according to their denture-bearing ridge status. Materials and Methods: Thirty edentulous subjects, wearing new well-fitting dentures, were classified as having either a normal or resorbed ridge. Mastication was evaluated in patients who completed chewing tests with and without two DA substances (cream or strips), which were randomly assigned. A chewing test with a sieve method analyzed masticatory performance. A kinesiographic device evaluated chewing cycle, and a visual analog scale measured masticatory ability. Data were submitted to Mauchly’s sphericity test, and PROC MIXED procedures were conducted on repeated measures. Tukey-Kramer tests performed appropriate statistical comparisons (P ≤ .05). Results: DA use increased masticatory performance and ability in patients with both ridge types (P < .05). Subjects with resorbed ridges showed the best masticatory performance (P < .001) and lowest chewing cycle time (P < .001) with DA cream, followed by DA strips and the nonadhesive trial. For normal ridge subjects, decreases in × 50 values were only significant with DA use (P < .05), regardless of DA type. The denture-bearing ridge status alone did not alter masticatory function in any of the parameters evaluated. Conclusion: DAs improve mastication by shortening the chewing cycle and by enhancing chewing ability and performance. Int J Prosthodont 2014;27:140–146. doi: 10.11607/ijp.3674