What do patients expect from complete dentures?

摘要

Objectives. An investigation was undertaken with the aim of determining whether patients wearing complete dentures in dental hospital (DH) and dental practice (DP) had different expectations from their dentures, together with their requirements for information about denture construction and oral and denture care.Methods. A total of 214 edentulous patients, with a mean age of 69 years, from DP (125) and DH (89) participated in the questionnaire-based study. A valid questionnaire (P-DEQ) was constructed which demonstrated good test-retest reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.86). The P-DEQ sought to determine how patients responded to a series of questions related to what dentists are urged to achieve with complete dentures. The questions covered not only what might be termed 'normative' expectations but also patients' perceived needs for further information about the stages of prosthodontic treatment and oral or denture care.Results. Significant differences (p