Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the stress-bearing ability of mucosa in complete denture-wearers.
Methods: The maximum bite force (MBF) was obtained in 31 voluntary complete denture-wearers with a miniature bite force instrument and a set of central bearing devices. The projective stress-bearing area in the mandible (PAM) was measured through the impression surface of the mandibular complete denture. The authors evaluated the stress-bearing ability (SBA) of mucosa in complete denture-wearers by the formula MBF/PAM.
Results: The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the MBF (the mean was 15.13 kg in men and 11.39 kg in women) and the PAM (the mean was 17.15 cm2 in men and 14.46 cm2 in women) and that there was no significant difference between the mean of the SBA in men (0.89 kg/cm2) and the mean of the SBA in women (0.79 kg/cm2). The mean value of the maximum pressure borne by the mandibular edentulous region was 82 kPa (0.84 kg/cm2).
Conclusions: The SBA may become a valuable parameter for the design of both occlusion and reinforcement in the denture construction and for the selection of the maximum load in mechanical tests of complete dentures.