Does mandibular edentulous bone height affect prosthetic treatment success?
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to determine whether mandibular bone height affects patients' ratings of satisfaction and function with mandibular 2-implant overdentures (IODs) and conventional dentures (CDs).


METHODS
214 edentulous elders were randomly allocated into 2 groups and treated with maxillary CDs and either mandibular CDs or IODs. Classifications of mandibular bone height were carried out on panoramic radiographs using 4 published methods. At baseline and 6 months after delivery, all participants rated their satisfaction with their prostheses using the McGill Denture Satisfaction Instrument. Independent t-tests and a linear multivariable regression model were used for statistical analyses.


RESULTS
Mandibular bone height has no effect on patients' ratings of general satisfaction, nor on ratings of ability to chew, stability, comfort, aesthetics and ability to speak at 6 months (p>0.05, linear regression). There were significant between treatment differences in ratings of general satisfaction, comfort, stability and ability to chew from all mandibular bone height categories, with higher ratings assigned to IODs (p<0.01, t-tests). Linear regression analyses confirmed that, for general satisfaction, as well as ability to chew, stability, comfort, aesthetics and ability to speak, treatment with IODs contributes to higher satisfaction ratings (p<0.001), while mandibular bone height does not.


CONCLUSIONS
The evidence demonstrates that mandibular bone height has no effect on patients' satisfaction with the function, chewing ability and comfort of their prostheses. Furthermore, no matter how much mandibular bone, these results suggest that edentulous elders will benefit more from mandibular IODs than from CDs.
Pan
Shaoxia
S
Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
Dagenais
Marie
M
Thomason
J Mark
JM
Awad
Manal
M
Emami
Elham
E
Kimoto
Suguru
S
Wollin
Stephanie D
SD
Feine
Jocelyne S
JS
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D019094:Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; D003779:Denture Design; D003781:Denture Retention; D003826:Denture, Complete, Lower; D003827:Denture, Complete, Upper; D003828:Denture, Overlay; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D012737:Sex Factors; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome