Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, Vol 10, 384-404, Copyright © 1999 by International & American Associations for Dental Research
Post-extraction remodeling of the adult mandible
V. J. Kingsmill
Department of Conservative Dentistry, St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK.
Following tooth loss, the mandible shows an extensive loss of bone in some
individuals. This may pose a significant problem in the prosthodontic
restoration of function and esthetics. The many factors which have been
proposed as being responsible for the inter-individual variation in
post-extraction remodeling mean that a perfunctory analysis of the
literature, in which well-controlled, relevant studies are scarce, may not
provide the whole story. This article reviews the local and systemic
factors which may play a role in the post-extraction remodeling of the
mandible. Since severe residual ridge resorption may occur even when the
bone status in the rest of the skeleton is good and vice versa, it is
concluded that local functional factors are of paramount significance. It
is now essential to determine how they can be modified and applied to help
maintain ridge height and quality in our aging, edentulous population.
