Assessment of swallowing and masticatory performance in obturator wearers: a clinical study

To assess function by identifying changes in swallowing and masticatory performance in maxillary obturator prosthesis wearers. Sixty subjects were recruited for the study, of which 20 were obturator wearers, 20 were completely dentulous and 20 had removable partial/complete dentures with similar Eichner's Index. Swallowing ability was evaluated with and without obturator using the "Water Drinking Test"; Masticatory performance was evaluated with the Sieve test; and maximum occlusal force was recorded with the help of a digital bite sensor. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 15.0 with a confidence level at 95%. Profile, behavior of drinking and time taken to drink were significantly improved (P