TREATMENT OUTCOMES WITH MANDIBULAR REMOVABLE PARTIAL DENTURES - A POPULATION-BASED STUDY OF PATIENT SATISFACTION

Statement of problem. Little is known about the outcomes of treatment with mandibular removable partial dentures provided by dentists in pri vate dental practice. Purpose. This study examined 15 aspects of patie nt satisfaction and explored the factors found to be associated with d issatisfaction. Material and methods. A questionnaire was mailed to pe ople whose dental insurance claims included CPT Code 5214 within the l ast 5 years. A composite measure of treatment outcome was created by c ombining the responses to the 15 satisfaction items, and 10 factors we re then tested statistically to determine their relationship to dissat isfaction. Results. A majority of the respondents were satisfied with the prosthesis, but a substantial amount of dissatisfaction existed. D issatisfaction was greater when there was no previous wearing experien ce or when there was an opposing maxillary removable partial denture. Respondents under the age of 60 expressed more dissatisfaction than di d those over the age of 60, and subjects with lower levels of general health also reported less satisfaction. One third of the respondents b elieved their prosthesis required adjustment or replacement, and one f ourth said the removable partial denture had caused a problem with the natural teeth. Conclusion. A majority of survey respondents treated w ith a mandibular removable partial denture in private dental practice were satisfied with the prosthesis, but a substantial amount of dissat isfaction existed. Dissatisfaction was related to age, health, prior e xperience with a prosthesis, and the type of opposing dentition.