Yoshiro Fujii
Shin Kobe Dental Clinic, Kobe City, Japan
Title: Two cases of the serious dementia improved dramatically by placing denture
Biography
Biography: Yoshiro Fujii
Abstract
Serious dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease seems intractable and progressive. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the improvement of two cases of serious dementia by placing denture(s). The two subjects were women in their 70s. They had serious dementia and were diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s disease by a medical doctor in charge of their cases. In the first case, the subject’s symptoms included severe disorientation, impaired communication and a tendency to wander. Two weeks after a lower full denture placing, she was able to greet others. Five weeks later she was able to communicate and to read an analog clock precisely. Her improved condition continued for least three months. In the second case, the subject constantly kept her mouth open. She was in a vegetable stage; she was bedridden, hardly moved, talked or laughed. It was impossible to communicate with her. Only a few seconds after an upper full denture placement, she started to talk but it was unintelligible. Two weeks after a lower full denture placement, she could communicate smoothly, laugh and walk without help. The underlining mechanism has not yet been clarified, however, the author hypothesizes that positive signals from the oral area transferred to the brain as the positive stimulation, via the trigeminal nerve, which is the biggest of the cranial nerves.
