Changed morphology and mechanical properties of cancellous bone in the mandibular condyles of edentate people.
Since edentate subjects have a reduced masticatory function, it can be expected that the morphology of the cancellous bone of their mandibular condyles has changed according to the altered mechanical environment. In the present study, the morphology of cylindrical cancellous bone specimens of the mandibular condyles of edentate subjects (n = 25) was compared with that of dentate subjects (n = 24) by means of micro-computed tomography and by the application of Archimedes' principle. Stiffness and strength were determined by destructive mechanical testing. Compared with dentate subjects, it appeared that, in edentate subjects, the bone was less dense and the trabecular structure was less plate-like. The regression models of stiffness and strength built from bone volume fraction and the trabecular orientation relative to the axis of the specimen were similar for both dentate and edentate subjects. This indicates that, under reduced mechanical load, the fundamental relationship between bone morphology and mechanical properties does not change.
Department of Orthodontics and Oral Biology, University Medical Centre Nijmegen, University of Nijmegen, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands. e.giesen@dent.umcn.nl
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Giesen
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Ding
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Dalstra
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van Eijden
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D002102:Cadaver; D003817:Dentition; D004548:Elasticity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008335:Mandibular Condyle / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008852:Microradiography; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed