The case against the edentulous ridge--and an alternative.
Loss of alveolar bone height frequently occurs when all teeth have been extracted, and many consider this loss irreversible. Retaining teeth under complete and partial dentures is a way of preventing bone loss; this type of treatment should be considered more often to prevent the handicapping condition of edentulism.
D000539:Alveolar Process; D001862:Bone Resorption / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003757:Dental Implantation; D003779:Denture Design; D003828:Denture, Overlay; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014070:Tooth / Q000502:physiology; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000502:physiology