Purpose: The aim of this study is to ascertain a change in diet and nutrient adequacy in patients who replace their existing dentures with new dentures.
Methods: An informed consent describing the purpose and contents of the current study was obtained from 30 patients who visited a hospital that was affiliated to the Nihon University School of Dentistry in Matsudo from March 2004 to November 2005. They were asked to record the dietary contents of their daily meals on previously prepared sheets and to photograph the contents of these meals including between meals in 3 consecutive days. A dietitian referred to the obtained records and pictures and interviewed for the confirmation of exact intakes of meals. Subsequently, they were asked to check the foods on the questionnaire developed by Hirai; this was done in order to verify their masticatory abilities. The obtained data was used to calculate the nutrient adequacy and mastication score of each patient. Repeated measure ANOVA was used to compare the differences of the mean values within the existing denture group and the new denture group. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Result: The total intake of energy and nutrients was almost over 100 % in both the groups; however, no statistically significant difference was noted between these 2 groups. The mastication scores in the existing denture and new denture groups were 66.1 ± 18.5 and 58.3 ± 19.9, respectively. The score increased significantly in the new denture group when compared with that of the existing denture group.
Conclusion: The sufficiency of nutrient adequacies of the existing denture and new denture groups were within the normal range. Although patients in the new denture group perceived an improvement in mastication, as reflected by their mastication scores, no statistically significant difference in nutrient adequacies was noted between the 2 groups to affirm their perception.