Treatment planning of the edentulous mandible

Edentulism can be a debilitating handicap. Zarb described endentulous individuals who could not function as 'denture cripples'. 1 Most difficulty with complete denture prostheses arises from the inability to function with the mandibular prostheses. Factors that adversely affect successful use of a complete denture on the mandible include: 1) the mobility of the floor of the mouth, 2) thin mucosa lining the alveolar ridge, 3) reduced support area and 4) the motion of the mandible ( Figs 1-2). These factors alone can explain the difficulty of wearing a denture on the mandibular arch compared to the maxillary arch. The maxilla exhibits much less mobility on the borders of the denture than the mandible, moreover having a stable palate with thick fibrous tissues available to support the prostheses and resist occlusal forces. These differences explain most of the reasons why patients experience difficulty with using a complete denture on the mandibular arch compared to the maxillary arch.