“12 Month Clinical Evaluation of an Innovative Digital Index for the Follow-Up of Edentulous Patients”

Aim

Nowadays, digital technologies have deeply changed prosthetic paradigms and dentists are increasingly providing dental treatments with a full digital workflow. This study aimed to assess whether edentulous patients, who were trained by a dental hygienist about hygienic maintenance, show a different plaque retention at the intaglio surface of full dentures (FD) compared to untrained patients. Additionally, the study aimed to introduce a new digital index for the denture hygiene evaluation.

Materials and Methods

Thirty edentulous patients were enrolled by dentists of the Scientific Unit of Digital Dentistry, directed by Prof. Fernando Zarone, and were randomly divided into two groups: trained (TG) or control group (CG). TG received practical demonstrations on home hygiene procedures, while CG received only written instructions following the American College of Prosthodontists’ guidelines. At baseline and 1 year follow-up, a plaque detector was used in the FD intaglio, then a photographic documentation and an intraoral scan of the FD were performed. Scan data was analyzed by MeshLab software to calculate the "Zarone Index," detecting the percentage of denture surface covered with plaque.

Results

Power analysis confirmed the study's statistical validity. Normality and homogeneity of variance tests were performed. The Welch test showed statistically significant differences (p<0.001) between the "Trained Baseline" and "Trained Follow-up" groups, as well as between the "Trained Follow-up" and "Control Follow-up" groups. No significant differences between the "Control Follow-up" and "Control Baseline" groups were evidenced.

Conclusion

Trained patients demonstrated both statistically and clinically significant improvements in prosthesis care and home hygiene. These findings highlight the importance of a collaborative approach involving dentist, hygienist and patient in order to improve the treatment outcomes. These preliminary results will be extended with a longer-term follow-up.