Anda Slaidiņa

Osteoporosis and edentulous jaws

Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeletal system characterised by decreased bone density and microarchitectural deterioration which results in a decreased bone strength and increased risk of fractures. According to the World Health Organization data it is the second most common pathology right after the cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis related fractures can be seen in every third woman and every fifth men older than 50.

Loosing of the tooth causes residual ridge resorption, which is a chronic progressive and irreversible process, and causes of it are not still fully understood. Residual ridge resorption is significant factor which affects the prosthetic rehabilitation of edentulous patients and their ability to adapt to their prosthesis as well as the doctor’s options to construct optimal complete denture. Use of the dental implants helps to improve the stability and retention of the complete denture resulting in improved quality of life for the patients, but it must be considered that the implantation also requires adequate amount and quality of alveolar bone. There are several factors which affect the residual ridge resorption – anatomical, metabolic, mechanic, prosthetic. Some scientists believe that in particular metabolic factors such as osteoporosis are the most significant factors leading to the residual ridge resorption. The data from clinical studies regarding the osteoporosis and its effect on residual ridge resorption are controversial and the degree of resorption is evaluated using conventional X-ray imaging, which is a less informative method. Nowadays when - Cone beam computed tomography is used it is possible to determine exact degree of residual ridge resorption and analyse the quality of bone and its relation to the osteoporosis.