[Considerations regarding the treatment with total dentures for patients with hyposalivation. A clinical case].
The reduction of the saliva volume leads to a number of difficulties in wearing the total dentures and favours the appearance of the denture stomatitis. For this reason, the treatment of edentulous patients with xerostomia must begin with a complete clinical examination, in order to evaluate the conditions for prosthetic replacement and the amount of the saliva volume. One can appreciate the aetiology and the degree of the saliva volume's alteration trough subjective methods (questionnaires) and objective methods (a few clinical tests, i.e. the mirror test, the pH evaluation, the examination of the saliva). During the treatment, we must pay attention to the preprosthetic measures (the oral rehabilitation), to the treatment stages (special types of impressions, the correct determination of the occlusal and intermaxillary relationships, the aspect of the internal denture's surface), and to the after-treatment phase (the patient's instructions regarding denture's wearing and hygiene, the patient's monitoring). Respecting this rules we may increase the quality of total dentures for patients with xerostomia.