Análise comparativa da performance mastigatória entre doentes portadores de prótese parcial removível acrílica e esquelética

Objectives: To perform a comparative analysis of the masticatory performance between patients with acrylic versus metal removable partial dentures. Methods: 20 subjects participated in this study: 10 with a bimaxillary acrylic removable partial denture (PA group) and 10 with a bimaxillary metal removable partial denture (PE group). The subjects were aged between 49 and 79 years old and included 12 females and 8 males. A system of 7 granulometric sieves was employed, and an artificial food was elaborated. Each participant chewed 20 cubes of the artificial food: 10 cubes in a first masticatory cycle of 20 strokes and 10 cubes in a second masticatory cycle of 40 strokes. After chewing, each patient disposed of the food into a container. A particle size analysis, using a sieves system, was performed to determine the geometric mean particle diameter (GMD). The sample's results were submitted to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk normality tests. The student t- test was then performed to compare the mean GMD in the PA and PE groups, considering a significance level of 0.05. Results: Statistically significant differences were verified between the mean GMD of the PA group and the PE group, both for the 1st masticatory cycle (p < 0.001) and for the 2nd masticatory cycle (p < 0.001). The PA group's mean GMD values were higher than those of the PE group in the two masticatory cycles. Conclusion: A difference was verified in the masticatory performance between patients with acrylic versus metal removable partial dentures.