Changes in mandibular ridge height in relation to aging and length of edentulism period
The purpose of this study was to investigate the amount of mandibular ridge resorption in relationship to aging and edentulism period. One hundred and twenty male edentulous subjects participated in this study. All were complete denture wearers and were divided into two resorptive age groups: those 40 to 60 years of age and those over 60 years of age. A standard panoramic radiograph of each subject was taken. Alveolar bone resorption was estimated by taking the original height of the alveolar process as being three times the distance from the inferior border of the mandible to the lower border of the mental foramen. The amount of bone loss from the original alveolar level to the measured level of the residual ridge was expressed as a percentage of the original height of the mandible. The minimum mandibular height reduction expressed as a percentage of the estimated original height of the mandible was 9€/O and the greatest was 49%. Nearly 66% of the subjects had mandibular height reductions of less than 30%. The means of percentage ridge reduction within the 40-to-60-year age group increased from 21.88% to 24.91% with edentulous age. Within the group over 60 years, these means increased from 24.30% to 32.50%. The authors conclude that mandibular resorption continues with time and that the early mean reduction in mandibular height was followed by a slower mean resorption as the period of edentulism increased. [M.).D.]
Karaagaclioglu, L., and P. Ozkan, Int J Prosth, 7:368, 1994