European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

THE NEUTRAL ZONE; THE REVIEW

*Dr. Paulami Bagchi, Dr. Dhiman Choudhury, Dr. Piyush Mankar and Dr. Jitendra Bhandari

ABSTRACT

In edentulous dental arches there exists void that may be called the potential denture space. Such denture space is bounded by the tongue, medially and by the muscles and tissues of the lips and cheeks laterally or externally. The neutral zone is that area in the potential denture space where during function, the forces of the tongue are neutralized by the forces of the cheeks and lips. Since these forces are developed through muscles contraction during the various functions of chewing, swallowing and speaking, they vary in magnitude and direction in different individuals and in different periods of life. The way these forces are directed against the dentures will either help to stabilize them or will tend to dislodge them. Even though Denture stability is as much or more influenced by tooth position and flange contour as by any other factors, netural zone is also important concept to consider.

Keywords: Neutral zone, Potential Denture space, Stability.