Oral sensory function and mastication in healthy elderly and adults with bruxism.

Abstract

This proposal requests funding for the development of three subprojects of research, whose objectives are: Subproject 1: to compare chewing of edentulous elderly rehabilitated through complete dentures (CD), and later through lower overdentures on single osseointegrated implant installed in the mandibular symphysis. It will be evaluated the chewing performance (sieving method), maximum bite force (pressure sensors), masticatory movements (kinesiography), chewing ability (questionnaire), oral sensory function (oral stereognosis), quality of life (OHIP-14) and patient satisfaction (questionnaire); Subproject 2: to compare the maximum tongue pressure (pressure sensors), oral sensory function, tongue volume (ultrasound), size of the dental arch (distance between molars), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale), and life quality (OHIP-14) in patients with and without bruxism, before and after stabilizing splints insertion; and Subproject 3: to assess the consequences of not using CD on the masticatory function and masseter thickness of edentulous elderly, and verify whether the installation of new CD helps the masseter volume recovery and changes the oral sensory function. It will be selected 30 fully edentulous volunteers to develop the first and the third subprojects (n=15 each). For the second subproject, it will be selected volunteers with (n=30) and without (n=30) bruxism, which will have the above mentioned variables compared before and after treatment with stabilization splints. The results will be submitted to exploratory analysis and subsequent application of appropriate statistical tests. (AU)