Salivary secretion and denture retention.

Correlations between the retention of complete dentures and flow rates of the palatal and parotid glands were studied in 86 patients. The determination of secretion rates and forces of the forward leverage leading to a dislocation of the dentures showed a narrow correlation between the secretion of palatal glands and the retention of maxillary dentures. The retention of mandibular complete dentures is adversely influenced by the secretion rate of minor salivary glands. However, there is no correlation between the flow rate of parotid saliva and the retention of either denture. In addition, the medicinal stimulation of salivation showed that an increase of mucus secretion induced an improved retention of maxillary complete dentures.