Nutrition, Chewing Ability and Quality of Life in Older Adults With Implant Overdentures: A Prospective Clinical Study.

Objectives: To evaluate the changes in nutritional status, chewing ability and oral health-related quality of life in edentulous individuals who have initially been rehabilitated with immediate complete dentures (CD) which are then transformed to implant-supported overdentures (IOD) after a period of osseointegration.

Background: Compared to those with conventional dentures, individuals with IODs exhibit improved patient-reported outcomes, chewing capacity and biting force. While prior research highlights differences in nutritional markers between these groups, there is limited investigation into intra-individual changes in nutritional status, chewing ability and oral health-related quality of life during the transition from CDs to IODs.

Materials and methods: Edentulous individuals aged 50 years or older and needing oral rehabilitation with IODs were eligible for this prospective study. The primary outcome measure was the nutritional status as measured by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire and chewing ability questionnaire represented secondary outcome measures. These measures were assessed at baseline (T0), 3-month follow-up after application of the CD (T1), and 3- and 6-month follow-up after the CD had been transformed to IOD (T2 and T3). Statistical analyses used repeated measures ANOVA or the Friedman test for OHIP-14 and MNA scores, with logistic regression used for malnutrition risk.

Results: Thirty-five participants were included in the final analysis. MNA scores significantly worsened from the baseline to the 3-month follow-up after the application of the CD. There was no significant change in nutritional status between baseline and the IOD 3- and 6-month follow-up appointment. IODs led to significant improvements in the OHIP total score at both the 3- and 6-month follow-ups (p < 0.001, W = 0.60) with a strong effect size. Difficulty in chewing decreased significantly, affecting 91.4% of participants at baseline, which reduced to 51.4% (18/35) by the 6th month.

Conclusion: Implant-supported overdentures do not influence nutritional status, but they improve chewing ability and oral-health related quality of life in older adults.