Impact of occlusal schemes on prognosis of conventional complete dentures in patients with severely resorbed alveolar ridges

Bilateral Balanced Occlusion (BBO) and Canine Guidance (CG) are occlusal schemes that have been successfully used in complete dentures (CDs). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of CG compared to BBO on satisfaction, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and masticatory performance in CDs wearers with severe resorbed alveolar ridge by means of a crossover trial. Sixteen edentulous patients with severe resorbed ridges were treated with new maxillary and mandibular CDs. After adaptation period, they were randomly divided into two groups according to a sequence of occlusal schemes: BBO for 30 days followed by CG for 30 days or, CG for 30 days followed by BBO for 30 days. Patient satisfaction with their dentures, OHRQoL and masticatory performance were assessed immediately 30 days after of using each occlusal scheme. The results of satisfaction and quality of life were using Wilcoxon test, and data regarding masticatory performance were analyzed through paired t-test (α = .05). The occlusal scheme used in complete dentures had no significant influence on general patient satisfaction (p = 0.06), overall quality of life (p = 0.09), or masticatory performance of patients (p = 0.182). Both BBO and CG can be considered as suitable for oral rehabilitation with CDs in patients with severe resorbed alveolar ridges. However, CG may be considered as a scheme of choice by clinicians due to its greater simplicity and shorter execution time.