Background: Patients with xerostomia have difficulties using dentures. Application of denture adhesives (DAs) can improve the stabilization of prostheses.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the retention capability of complete maxillary dentures in patients with xerostomia, determined with and without the use of prosthetic DAs.
Material and methods: This study evaluated the retention force of prostheses in a group of 60 patients diagnosed with xerostomia. Completely edentulous patients were classified into groups and all used the same kind of DAs during the study. The evaluation was performed 1, 3 and 6 h after application.
Results: All patients had poor retention of maxillary dentures without DAs. Maxillary denture retention was much better when DAs were used. The majority of the DAs used were most effective in terms of retention after 1 h. Denture adhesives in the form of glue had the best retention in this study of patients with xerostomia.
Conclusions: The results of the present study revealed the impact of DAs on average retention forces in complete maxillary denture patients with xerostomia. Patients affected by a reduced secretion of saliva have difficulties using prosthetics. In some cases, such use becomes impossible because of a complete lack of retention. The application of DAs could be a solution in these cases. Denture adhesives in glue form had the best retention during the study for patients with xerostomia.
Keywords: denture adhesives; patients with xerostomia; retention of prostheses.