Customizing Dentures for Cognitive Decline: A Systematic Review with Structured Clinical Guidelines on Alzheimer’s-specific Modifications

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has a substantial impact on oral health management due to progressive cognitive decline, neuromuscular incoordination, and behavioral changes. Conventional complete dentures often pose functional and compliance challenges in this vulnerable population, necessitating specific prosthetic modifications. To systematically review and synthesize the existing literature on design modifications in conventional complete dentures tailored for patients with AD. A comprehensive electronic search was conducted across PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases. Studies discussing denture modifications specific to Alzheimer’s patients were included. An exploration of grey literature was also included through Google Scholar. Manual search in the references of the selected articles was also done for relevant articles. Risk of bias assessment was done using an eight-item questionnaire provided by Murad MH et al . The review identified limited but relevant studies. After applying the selection criteria, a total of 3 articles were selected from PubMed, and 3 from Google Scholar. Two articles from these discussed denture traceability method, three discussed denture identification method, and one discussed occlusal design modification. Alzheimer’s disease patients have special prosthodontic needs. Evidence is still lacking, despite the fact that certain denture alterations appear to have potential in enhancing function and compliance. To create standardized methods and assess their long-term effectiveness and patient outcomes, high-quality clinical research is needed.