Assessment of swallowing and masticatory performance in obturator wearers: a clinical study.
OBJECTIVE
To assess function by identifying changes in swallowing and masticatory performance in maxillary obturator prosthesis wearers.


METHODS
Sixty subjects were recruited for the study, of which 20 were obturator wearers, 20 were completely dentulous and 20 had removable partial/complete dentures with similar Eichner's Index. Swallowing ability was evaluated with and without obturator using the "Water Drinking Test"; Masticatory performance was evaluated with the Sieve test; and maximum occlusal force was recorded with the help of a digital bite sensor. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 15.0 with a confidence level at 95%.


RESULTS
Profile, behavior of drinking and time taken to drink were significantly improved (P<.001) in subjects after wearing obturator. Masticatory performance was not significantly different (P=.252) in obturator wearer when compared with dentulous or removable partial/complete denture wearer, but significantly (P<.001) high inter group difference in maximum occlusal force existed. Correlation between masticatory performance and maximum occlusal force was not significant (P=.124).


CONCLUSIONS
Swallowing ability was significantly improved after wearing obturator but masticatory performance was not significantly different from those having similar occlusal support zone in their dentition.
Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Science, King Georges Medical University, Lucknow, India.
Nungotso
N
Vero
Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Science, King Georges Medical University, Lucknow, India.
Niraj
N
Mishra
Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Science, King Georges Medical University, Lucknow, India.
Balendra Pratap
BP
Singh
Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Science, King Georges Medical University, Lucknow, India.
Kamleshwar
K
Singh
Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Science, King Georges Medical University, Lucknow, India.
Sunit Kumar
SK
Jurel
Department of Surgical Oncology, King Georges Medical University, Lucknow, India.
Vijay
V
Kumar
Mastication; Masticatory performance; Maxillectomy; Obturator; Occlusal force; Swallowing