Effect of complete dentures on body balance during standing and walking in elderly people.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the influence of wearing complete dentures on postural control in standing and walking.


METHODS
Thirty-four edentulous patients participated in this study. All the subjects were wearing complete dentures, and the dentures were adjusted or replaced with new dentures when necessary. Measurements were performed under two conditions: wearing dentures and not wearing dentures. Standing stability was evaluated by the locus of center of mass, and gait stability was evaluated by the gait velocity, stride and gait cycle. In addition, gait stability was also evaluated by the maximum acceleration, maximum angle rate, lateral equilibrium, root mean square and harmonic ratio with a tri-axial accelerometer at a sampling rate of 66 Hz. Differences for the locus of center of mass, gait velocity, gait cycle and stride length were assessed with the paired t test (P<0.05). Other outcomes were compared with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (P<0.05).


RESULTS
With denture wear, the locus of center of mass was significantly shortened, and the gait velocity and harmonic ratio of the vertical angle rate were significantly increased; though other parameters showed no differences. Complete dentures produced an effect on the stability of edentulous patients under both static and dynamic conditions.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that wearing complete dentures may be an effective aid to maintain and improve balance and control for elderly people.
Okubo
Mai
M
Complete Denture Prosthodontics, Department of Oral Masticatory Function Rehabilitation, Division of Oral Health Sciences, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan. maioore@tmd.ac.jp
Fujinami
Yukiko
Y
Minakuchi
Shunsuke
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003824:Denture, Complete; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*