title: An analysis of the vertical bone loss in edentulous mandibles by using the mental foramen as a reference: a radiographic study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the amount of vertical bone loss in edentulous mandibles by using the mental foramen as a reference.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety subjects who consisted of thirty dentulous (males I MD and females II FD) and sixty edentulous (males I ME and females II FE) subjects were selected and they were subjected to digital panoramic radiography. Among the dentulous subjects, in both the groups, the ratio between the height of the mandible and the distance from the mental foramen and the lower border of the mandible (A/B) were calculated by using inbuilt software. This ratio A/B was applied in the edentulous subjects to measure the original height of the mandible before resorption. The amount of vertical bone loss was then calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the dentulous subjects, the A/B ratio in males was 2.94 and in females, it was 3.09. In the edentulous subjects, the vertical bone loss in males was 3.55mm and in females, it was 6.59mm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ratio of the distance from the inferior border of the mandible to the superior border of the mandible(A) and the distance from the inferior border of the mandible to the inferior margin of the mental foramen (B) were less in the dentulous males than in the dentulous females. The comparison of the ratios was nonsignificant. The mean bone loss in edentulous females was found to be greater than the mean bone loss in edentulous males on comparison.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Prosthodontics, Gian Sagar Dental College and Hospital , Rajpura, Punjab, India .
authors.forename: Anjali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sofat
authors.forename: Virat
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Galhotra
authors.forename: Ramandeep Singh
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Gambhir
authors.forename: Shushant K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Garg
keywords: Comparison; Dentulous; Edentulous; Vertical bone loss