Case Report: An Extreme Case of Alveolar Bone Resorption in an Edentulous Mandible

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Author Info

Margaret A. Jergenson Neil S. Norton Barbara J. O’Kane Gilbert M. Willett Laura C. Barritt

Corresponding Author

Gilbert M. Willett
Department of Oral Biology, Creighton University School of Dentistry, Omaha, NE

A B S T R A C T

The alveolar processes of the mandible and maxilla develop in response to tooth eruption and serve as the principal mechanism of tooth support. When teeth are lost or extracted, the result is resorption of the alveolar bone. The rate of resorption is variable between individuals but will progress over time. During dissection, varying examples of alveolar resorption are observed in edentulous donors. A 76-year-old female donor presented an extreme case of alveolar bone resorption during dissection in our Head and Neck Anatomy course. The body of the mandible in this case was extremely short, with a vertical height in the molar region of 5mm and 8mm in the canine area. The dissection revealed the superior surface of the bone to have an open groove containing the inferior alveolar nerve and vessels. The maxilla also demonstrated severe resorption. This loss of bone has significant implications for restoration of function by dental implants or removable prosthesis. It is not unusual to find resorption that has significantly reduced the height of the mandibular body to the extent that the mental foramen opens superiorly on the bone. However, an open mandibular canal with the neurovascular bundle exposed throughout the dental arch is much more unusual. Individuals with this degree of resorption present great challenges in treatment. There is no means to provide retention for a mandibular removable prosthesis. Pressure of prosthesis on the inferior alveolar and mental nerves would potentially produce pain and paresthesia and/or numbness. Placement of dental implants is complicated at best. To provide minimal requirements for implant placement would require vertical augmentation of the mandible along with transposition/reposition of the inferior alveolar nerve

Article Info

Article Type

Case Report

Publication history

Received: Wed 03, Apr 2019
Accepted: Wed 17, Apr 2019
Published: Mon 20, May 2019

Copyright

© 2023 Gilbert M. Willett. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.DOBCR.2019.02.03