Morphological variation in dentate and edentulous human mandibles

Purpose The aim of the study was to examine the different morphometric variations of the human mandibles, comparing between males and females in dentate and edentulous mandibles. Methods Eighty adult human dry mandibles were studied. Thirty-two variations were evaluated according to the presence and absence of teeth. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was performed to evaluate the normal distribution of the morphometric variables. Levene test evaluated homoscedasticity. Student t tests and Mann-Whitney U tests, when indicated, were performed to compare each of the morphometric variables between dentate and edentulous mandibles. Statistical differences were considered when the P value was less than 0.05. Results Considerable numbers of measurements were statistically significantly different when comparing the influence of dental status on the anatomical measurements; the position and anatomical relations of the mental foramen and overall dimensions of the mandible are especially influenced. Only a few measurements were statistically significantly different in the comparison between males and females. Conclusions The results of this research showed that the presence or absence of the teeth can alter mandibular shape and that mandibular edentulism may be associated with specific shape changes in the mandible. The dental status has a higher influence on the mandibular anatomy than the difference in gender.