Complete Edentulism & Positive Aging

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this article is to challenge two concepts widely disseminated and accepted in the Chilean dental field: first, that all people who wear complete prosthetic devices, particularly complete maxillary dentures (CMDs) are older people; and second, that among those patients who wear CMDs it is recommended to remove them at night, as a protective mechanism for their oral and/or systemic health. Methods: A review of the existing Chilean and international evidence on the nocturnal removal of CMDs to assess whether it can be considered a recommendation of universal scope was conducted. Results: Although there is evidence supporting nocturnal removal of CMDs, the quality of such evidence is low or very low according to the GRADE criteria, generating well-founded doubts about the validity of the overall nature of such recommendation. Conclusions: The authors propose that education of denture wearers should focus on the hygiene of the oral mucosa and the prosthetic device, respecting the autonomy of the person in the final decision of removing or not their CMDs during the night and that this recommendation should not be made indiscriminately for all those who wear them, thus considering the biopsychosocial context of each patient.