Influence of Tissue Conditioning to Complete Denture Wearer's Brain Activity

Objectives: Periodontal ligament and masticatory muscles are known to link to brain function. Masticatory muscles function is important for complete denture wearers. This study evaluated the brain activity before and after tissue conditioning treatment of edentulous subjects. Methods: The subjects were six complete denture wearers with a chief complaint of pain. The subjects comprised 1 male and 5 females aged 67–85 years (mean age: 77.0 years). A Dental Prescale Occluzer @ (GC, Japan) was used for measurement of denture function (occlusal contact area and occlusal force). And electroencephalogram (EEG) and DIMENSION (Diagnosis Method of Neural Dysfunction) analyzing program were used for measurement of brain activity. The duration of the measurement was 3 minutes before and after denture treatment. The results were analyzed using Wilcoxon rank sum test (p < 0.05). Results: The occlusal contact area and the occlusal force were significantly increased after denture treatment in all 6 subjects (p < 0.05). The activation of brain activity was noted in 5 of the 6 patients. Measurement before denture treatment revealed that 5 patients were in the sub-normal/impaired region and one was in the normal region. After denture treatment, brain activity was significantly activated in all 5 patients who were in the impaired/sub-normal region before treatment (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study revealed that tissue conditioning treatment for patients who had been dissatisfied with their denture function resulted in improvements in denture function and an enhancement of their EEG function.