Comparative Evaluation of Retention and Oral Health Quality of Life in Dentures Fabricated with Conventional Impression Technique and Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation: A Prospective Clinical study

Aim:The aim of the present study was to comparatively evaluate the retention ofcomplete dentures and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patientswith conventional and bioelectric impressions or transcutaneous electric nervestimulation (TENS).

Materials and Methods: A total of thirty (n=30) completely edentulouspatients were randomly distributed into two groups: Group-C (n=15)(Conventional) and Group-T (n=15) (bioelectric) according to consort guidelines.In Group C, border molding was performed using the manual manipulation ofborders, and the final impression was made using zinc-oxide eugenol. In Group T,border molding and final impression were performed with the TENS application. Dentureswere fabricated, and retention was evaluated with a digital gauge. OHRQoL was assessedat the time of insertion and after three months of follow-up using the OralHealth Impact Profile Edentulous in Hindi (OHIP-Edent-H) questionnaire. Atwo-way ANOVA test was used for the significance level (P<0.05). Studentt-test was used for intergroup comparison, and paired t-test was used forintragroup comparison of OHRQoL.

Results: There was no significantdifference in the retention of maxillary and mandibular dentures fabricatedwith both techniques (P=0.283, P=0.662). Although, OHRQoLincreased significantly in both groups at follow-up (P=.001). However,at follow-up, the Functional Limitation (FL) domain was significantly better inthe conventional group.

Conclusions. Although, there was no significant difference inretention and OHRQoL between both groups. However, to reach a conclusiveresult, more clinical trials with large samples and longer follow-ups arerequired.