Oral stereognosis pattern in patients with dental prosthesis in the elderly population

Abstract

Background and Aim: All medical and dental therapies to a large extent depend on patient’s compliance for a successful treatment, especially in an organ like oral cavity that contains a complex sensory mechanism. This study is aimed to study the role of aging on sensory perception and the impact of loss of teeth and their prescribed prosthetic replacements on the oral stereognosis. Methods: The study was conducted on 150 subjects who were divided into five groups with 30 subjects belonging to each group. The groups were categorized into dentulous, completely edentulous, edentulous wearing maxillary denture, edentulous wearing mandibular denture, and edentulous wearing both dentures. Subjects were asked to place test specimens of 12 different shapes and the same had to be identified in the oral cavity. Response time was determined as the time interval between placement and first sign of indication. Results: After statistical analysis, results demonstrate that aging of an individual affects both oral stereognostic analysis score and response time. Presence of dentures also had a direct influence on the areas tested. Conclusion: While prescribing complete denture prosthesis or orthodontic fixed appliances, one must take into consideration the state of dentulism and existing dental prosthesis if any, as it can enhance or ameliorate patients oral stereognostic ability.