Impact of Denture Prostheses on Cognitive Functioning in Completely Edentulous Patients: A Pilot Study.

Aim: The aim is to evaluate the impact of denture prostheses on cognitive functioning in completely edentulous patients using a novel cognitive assessment tool.

Methods: Thirty (n=30) completely edentulous patients of age groups above 60 years were taken in the present study group. Pre- and post-cognitive assessments were done on the patients using a novel cognitive assessment tool, Dental Cognitive Functioning Assessment Tool (DCFAT). These assessments were done in the pre-treatment stage and after two weeks and three months of prostheses function.

Results: The mean DCFAT score of 30 patients shows 10.13 recorded prior to denture fabrication and 11.5 and 14 after two weeks and three months of prosthesis function, respectively. A mean difference in the DCFAT score of 1.37 was seen between the pre-denture fabrication stage and two weeks of prosthesis function. The mean difference in DCFAT score of 3.87 was seen between the pre-denture fabrication stage and three months of prosthesis function and the mean difference score of DCFAT score 2.5 was observed after two weeks and three months of prosthesis function. One-way ANOVA was used to investigate the statistical difference between bivariate samples followed by the post hoc Tukey test. The results were statistically significant p < 0.00001.

Conclusion:  The inference obtained suggest that the replacement of missing teeth by denture prostheses enhances the cognitive functioning in the elderly population which can eventually reduce the occurrence of dementia.