Research on prosthetic treatment of edentulous mandible

On 9 November at 15:00 in an open meeting of the Medical Promotion Council of Rīga Stradiņš University which will take place at the Hippocrates lecture theatre (16 Dzirciema Street, Rīga), Baiba Spriņģe will defend her doctoral thesis “Quantitative Assessment of Mandibular Residual Ridge on Cone Beam Computed Tomography Image”.

The major problem in the treatment of the edentulous mandibular jaw is the alveolar bone resorption, as it reduces the stability of complete dentures and has an impact on the patient’s quality of life. In the case of explicit reduction of the bone, it is advisable to place 2 to 4 dental implants in the anterior area of the mandible. To plan the placing of dental implants and estimate the mandibular alveolar bone amount, bone analysis in three dimensions is required, such as cone beam computed tomography.

The paper included three different studies with the participation of a group of 45 edentulous patients.

The first study was aimed at comparing planning opportunities for dental implants by using various roentgenologic examinations of the anterior area of the mandible. The second research analysed the relation between the reduced general bone mineral density and the volume of edentulous mandibular bone. Whereas, the third study focused on the relation between the amount of mandibular residual ridge and patients' satisfaction with conventional complete dentures. Additionally, the author analysed changes in the volume of edentulous mandibular bone and changes in patient satisfaction with conventional complete dentures within the period of three years.

• See the summary of Ms Spriņģe's doctoral thesis (in English)