MONITORING MICROCIRCULATION IN THE PALATAL MUCOSA BENEATH AN UPPER COMPLETE DENTURE USING A LASER DOPPLER FLOWMETRY: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

<p style="color: #000000; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;" data-mce-fragment="1">Older edentulous adults often rely on mucosa-supported complete dentures (CDs) due to limitations that preclude implant therapy. Although an adequate retention of maxillary CD is essential for functional efficiency, compression of the palatal mucosa during impression making may compromise palatal mucosal microcirculation during denture wear. The aim was to evaluate short-term changes in palatal mucosal blood perfusion in elderly individuals during adaptation to newly fabricated maxillary CDs.<strong data-mce-fragment="1"> </strong>Ten fully edentulous participants (mean age 67.3 years) received conventionally fabricated maxillary CDs and custom-made thermoplastic splints replicating the denture base. Palatal microcirculation was measured using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) through perforations in the splints at three regions (frontal, premolar, and molar), and at four time points: before denture insertion (T0), and at 30 min (T1), one week (T2), and six weeks (T3) post-insertion.<strong data-mce-fragment="1"> </strong>Significant reductions in blood perfusion units (BPU) were observed over time in the premolar and molar regions over time (<em data-mce-fragment="1">p</em> < 0.05), while changes in the frontal region were not significant (<em data-mce-fragment="1">p</em> > 0.05). At each time point, the molar region exhibited higher BPU values than the other regions. The greatest reductions were noted between the initial (T0/T1) and later (T2/T3) stages.<strong data-mce-fragment="1"> </strong>Short-term use of maxillary CDs was associated with reduced palatal mucosal blood perfusion, particularly in posterior regions. These findings underscore the importance of monitoring tissue response during maxillary complete denture adaptation to improve therapy outcomes in elderly patients.</p>