Jaciel Benedito de Oliveira; Andrelle Nayara Cavalcanti Lima de Almeida; Carla Cabral dos Santos Accioly Lins; Adelmar Afonso de Amorim Júnior & Zélia Albuquerque Seixas

Summary

This study proposes to measure and compare anthropometric measurements between toothed and toothless maxillas. 26 human skulls were used with: 13 toothed and 13 toothless maxillas. The measurements were made between the distances of the alveolar ridge (AR): the anterior nasal spine (ANS), to the incisive foramen (FI) and the palatine foramen, greater (FPMA) and lower (FPME) on both sides by two evaluators. The data obtained showed that the average of the measurements were correspondingly higher in toothed maxillas than in toothless, for all measurements in any one of the evaluators. The AR-ANS (p = 0.001), IF-AR (p = 0.006), AR-FPMA right (p = 0.001) and AR-FPMA left (p <0.001) and AR-FPME on both sides (p = 0.001) demonstrating significant differences between the two types of maxilla. Thus we verify that, as the tooth loss occurs, irreversible anatomical changes take place in the maxilla bone, which must be taken into account in the design and manufacture of prostheses and osseointegrated implants.

KEY WORDS: Anatomy; Maxilla; Total prosthesis; Alveolar bone loss; Dental implantation.

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