title: Residual ridge atrophy in complete denture wearers and relationship with densitometric values of a cervical spine: a hierarchical regression analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The rate of residual ridge atrophy (RRR) and its association with mineral density of other bones have not yet been fully explained.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To measure RRR over a 5-year period in complete denture wearers and relate it to the density of a cervical spine (CSBD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-two patients (different gender, age, body mass index, duration of edentulousness (DE) and different denture-wearing habits) participated. A copper stepwedge was attached to the cassette, and 50 lateral radiograms met the criteria to be included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant decrease in vertical height was observed in all measured sites. The amount of RRR was highest in frontal areas of both jaws and decreased gradually towards lateral regions. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the amount of RRR in the maxillary frontal area could be explained up to 48.4% by the variable DE and only up to 6.1% by the CSBD, while gender had almost no influence (1%). Similar results were obtained for the lateral maxillary RRR (33.9%; 7%; 2%), frontal mandibular RRR (40; 8.4; 0.4%) and lateral mandibular RRR (31.5%; 3.4%; 7.7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skeletal bone density, reflecting systemic and hereditary factors, is weakly related to RRR (3.4-8.4%).
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Study of Dental Medicine, Split University, Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kovačić
authors.forename: Dubravka
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Knezović Zlatarić
authors.forename: Asja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Celebić
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000473:pathology*; D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000473:pathology; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D002508:Cephalometry; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000473:pathology; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D003781:Denture Retention; D003824:Denture, Complete; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000473:pathology; D008437:Maxilla / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors