Page 17 - Impact of implant retained overdenture treatment and speech, oromyofunction, social participation and quality of life.

Background
Introduction
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In 2005 the World Health Organization (WHO) encountered an important shift in priorities by introducing the International Classification of Functioning (ICF). The WHO traditionally focused on infection control and mortality reduction. Now it recognizes the importance of reducing burden or consequences associated with health conditions by enabling people to achieve and maintain optimal functioning despite their possible disability. This shift requires many disciplines to work together to allow the patient to thrive in the best possible environment 1. Also in dentistry multidisciplinary practices are desirable. Now, the department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology of Ghent University has several ongoing clinical trials in relation to long-term implant survival, quality of life, speech, oromyofunctional behavior and technical aspects. Therefore a team of dentists (periodontists and prosthodontists) and speech language pathologists (SLPs) is assembled. The opportunity of evaluating and following the same patient groups, from different points of view is an important enrichment of the current knowledge.
The completely edentulous jaw
From the age of 17, most people have 32 teeth and ideally keep them until their final days. Most people, due to life events lose some teeth during life. The main causes of tooth loss are untreated tooth decay and periodontal disease, mainly caused by the absence of efficient preventive measures (e.g. control of sugar intake, oral hygiene) 2. Worldwide the prevalence of edentulism, the loss of all natural teeth, is difficult to assess, because of questionable statistical information in developing countries 3. The WHO report of 2010 by Petersen et al. stressed the lack of self-care and access to oral health facilities, due to physical and financial barriers, for older people (+65y) 3. Figure 1 shows the percentage of people of 65-74 years old in low-, middle and high income countries with no natural teeth and the percentage of people having experienced problems with mouth/teeth during the past year. Edentulism has worldwide important effects on a person’s life. Especially when it comes to food intake and aesthetics, affecting general health and social status, the need for dental rehabilitation is very high.
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