The influence of some demographic and clinical variables on psychosomatic traits of patients requesting replacement removable partial dentures.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of some demographic and clinical variables on psychosomatic traits of the patients who visited the prosthodontic section of the Dental Hospital at Tokyo Medical and Dental University for replacement of their removable partial dentures (RPDs). Sixty-six patients with 50 maxillary and 44 mandibular RPDs completed the psychological measurements concerning their dentures using visual analogue scales (VAS). Female patients rated significantly lower satisfaction with the comfort of their dentures than males. Younger patients expressed less satisfaction with the aesthetics of their dentures than the older patients. The period of wearing the present denture significantly correlated with psychological measures of pain, comfort, and general satisfaction, suggesting that this clinical variable may be an important factor. There was no significant correlation between the patients' general satisfaction with dentures and the retention/stability scores assessed by the examiner.