Influence of one- or two-stage methods for polymerizing complete dentures on adaptation and teeth movements

Abstract Introduction The quality of complete dentures might be influenced by the method of confection. Objective To evaluate the influence of two different methods of processing muco-supported complete dentures on their adaptation and teeth movements. Material and method Denture confection was assigned in two groups (n=10) for upper and lower arches according to polymerization method: 1) conventional one-stage - a wax trial base was made, teeth were arranged and polymerized; 2) two-stage method - the base was waxed and first polymerized. With the denture base polymerized, the teeth were arranged and then, performed the final polymerization. Teeth movements were evaluated in the distances between incisive (I-I), pre-molars (P-P), molars (M-M), left incisor to left molar (LI-LM) and right incisor to right molar (RI-RM). For the adaptation analysis, dentures were cut in three different positions: (A) distal face of canines, (B) mesial face of the first molars, and (C) distal face of second molars. Result Denture bases have shown a significant better adaptation when polymerized in the one-stage procedure for both the upper (p=0.000) and the lower (p=0.000) arches, with region A presenting significant better adaptation than region C. In the upper arch, significant reduction in the distance between I-I was observed in the one-stage technique, while the two-stage technique promoted significant reduction in the RI-RM distance. In the lower arch, one-stage technique promoted significant reduction in the distance for RI-RM and two-stage promoted significant reduction in the LI-LM distance. Conclusion Conventional one-stage method presented the better results for denture adaptation. Both fabrication methods presented some alteration in teeth movements.