Osteoporosis and Edentulous Jaws

Purpose: To investigate the influence of (1) osteoporosis on resorption of edentulous jaws and (2) whether osteoporosis enhances implant loss. Materials and Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases were searched for association of osteoporosis and bone resorption/loss of implants. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined and quality assessment of the remaining studies after exclusion was performed. The Cochrane approach for cohort studies was applied. Results: Methodologic assessment of the eligible publications using the Cochrane approach resulted in the inclusion of 11 publications in the final evaluation. Most studies dealt with the association between the extent of resorption or atrophy of edentulous jaws and the systemic (femoral, lumbar spine, metacarpal) bone mineral content (BMC) or bone mineral density (BMD) status. Four studies reported a significant association between the extent of resorption and the skeletal BMC and/or BMD. Four studies evaluated the effect of endosseous implants on mandibular BMC or BMD changes and the association between systematic BMD statuses and loss of implants. These studies revealed no association between systemic BMD status, mandibular BMD status, bone quality, and implant loss. Conclusions: Although no firm conclusions could be drawn regarding the effect of osteoporosis on resorption of edentulous jaws, with or without implants, due to the different parameters applied in the various studies, the use of endosseous implants in osteoporosis patients is not contraindicated.