Full Arch Considerations

The alveolar ridge continues to resorb after tooth extraction in both the mandible and maxilla. In the maxilla, ridge resorption primarily occurs in the labial or buccal bone, while in the mandible, resorption is more pronounced on the labial side in the anterior region and on the lingual side in the posterior region (Tallgren, 2003).

The rate of ridge resorption is influenced by several factors, including the history of extractions, the use and quality of prostheses, parafunctional habits, and systemic conditions such as diabetes and osteoporosis. Although socket preservation techniques can help reduce post-extraction dimensional changes in the alveolar ridge, they cannot completely prevent ridge resorption (Morjaria et al., 2014; Willenbacher et al., 2016).

This section explores various strategies for managing generalised alveolar ridge resorption in edentulous patients.