Alveolar bone resorption under complete dentures

Abstract

T he objective of preventive dentistry is the maintenance of a healthy dentition for the life of a patient. Unfortunately, if an individual has not received the benefits of a comprehensive program of preventive dentistry and has finally reached the edentulous state, the concept of preventive dentistry is regarded as a total failure for him. As a consequence, he receives a set of complete dentures. This approach constitutes a disservice to edentulous patients. Unlike dentulous patients who can still receive periodontal treatment and fixed or removable partial prostheses, edentulous patients have only the residual alveolar ridges to support complete dentures. If no effort is made to preserve this foundation, these patients will progressively experience more difficulty in attempting to obtain esthetic and efficient service from complete dentures. Early writers stressed the importance of preserving the residual alveolar ridges and described methods for accomplishing this goal.lm4 Wright wrote, “the present and future problem in the field of prosthesis pertains to the preservation of the denture supporting structures.“2 Since that time, various authors have presented different approaches to the preservation of the residual alveolar ridges, including dietary control, nonanatomic tooth design, occlusal schemes, impression techniques, and systematic recall systems s-lo , .