The aim of this systematic review was to analyse the evidence on the occurrence of denture stomatitis (DS) and potential risk factors in patients wearing partial removable dental prostheses (RDPs).
The Medline, EMbase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched. This was supplemented by manual searching. The authors accepted for inclusion all types of experimental and observational studies investigating an association between DS and the wearing of partial RDPs. Presence of DS was the main outcome measures with risk factors also being assessed. Study quality was assessed using valid scales. Selection data extraction and quality assessment was undertaken independently by two authors.
- Eight studies were included.
- Prevalence of DS in partial RDP wearers ranged from 1.1% to 36.7%.
- Data on the potential risk factors was variable.
- Despite the heterogeneity and methodological quality of included studies, an association between DS and the wearing of partial RDPs was found.
The authors concluded
There is some evidence that the presence of DS is associated with the wearing of partial RDPs. However, because of methodological limitations and cross-sectional designs of research studies, no cause-effect relationship could be inferred. Future research should provide higher levels of evidence to confirm the aetiology of DS in partial RDP wearers
Emami E, Taraf H, de Grandmont P, Gauthier G, de Koninck L, Lamarche C, de Souza RF. The association of denture stomatitis and partial removable dental prostheses: a systematic review. Int J Prosthodont. 2012 Mar-Apr;25(2):113-9. PubMed PMID: 22371829.
Comment
Only the abstract was available for review and the inclusion of a wide range of study designs and the lack of information regarding the type of studies finally included and the scales used to assess study quality would need to be assessed when reading the full paper. The presence of DS was a key outcome measure and it would be important to see how the included studies confirmed the diagnosis.
