Influence of the patients’ sex, type of dental prosthesis and antagonist on residual bone resorption at the level of the premaxilla

Objectives: To analyze the height and width of the ridge at the level of the premaxilla in edentulous patients, evaluating whether the sex of the patient, type of prosthetic rehabilitation and antagonist have an influence. Material and Method: We randomly selected a total of 89 patients, having an average age of 66.21 years old. A total of 308 measurements were made, all of them at the level of the premaxilla, in the intercanine area. As dependent variables, we analyzed the patients’ sex, age and the antagonist: removable (dental) prostheses (RP), fixed (dental) prostheses (FD), natural dentition (ND). As independent variables, we measured the height and residual width in sagittal sections provided by tomographic studies using Dentascan®. Results: We observed a significantly smaller ridge in women versus in men, and in patients whose antagonist was a fixed prosthesis; whereas for the type of prosthesis, we did not observe significant differences between the two categories analyzed. Conclusions: Bone resorption at the level of the premaxilla is a variable process in which a smaller size is observed (height and width) in women and when the antagonist is a fixed prosthesis. Key words: Bone resorption, premaxilla, dental prosthesis, edentulous.