LAUSR

Denture-related stomatitis (DRS) has recently been associated with harmful cardiovascular effects, including arterial hypertension. This study evaluated salivary parameters, blood pressure (BP) and heart rate variability (HRV), before and after the DRS treatment in edentulous patients (n=14). Collection of unstimulated and stimulated saliva, as well as blood pressure BP measurements and electrocardiogram recordings, were performed before and after ten days of DRS treatment. The salivary flow (mL/min) was found similar at both times while the pH was smaller (more neutral) after the treatment (7.3±2.2 vs. 7.1±0.24). The systolic BP (mmHg) showed a trend, but not a significant reduction after the DRS treatment (158±25.68 vs. 148±16,72, p=0,062) while diastolic BP was found similar in both times (86±13.93 and 84±9.38). Overall, the HRV measured by the standard deviation of RR intervals was not affected by DRS treatment (24±4 vs. 18±2 ms); but the differences of successive RR intervals (an index of parasympathetic cardiac modulation) increased after the treatment (26±4 vs. 19±2 ms). Moreover, another index of vagal modulation of the heart, i.e., the power of RR interval spectra at high-frequency, was also markedly higher after the DRS treatment (236±63 vs. 135±32 ms 2 ). Overall, these findings strongly suggest that the DRS is associated with an autonomic imbalance, particularly with sympathetic overactivity. Therefore, the DRS may be significantly harmful, increasing cardiovascular risk and the incidence of several diseases, for instance, arterial hypertension.