Mandibular Growth Following Implant Restoration: Does Wolff's Law Apply to Residual Ridge Resorption?

This study measured bone height under a fixed detachable cantilever restoration supported by five or six endosseous implants in 60 consecutively treated patients. Panoramic films were made at surgery and 1, 2, 3, and 4 years postrestoration. A computer-enhanced method was used to measure mandibular height 5, 10, 15, and 20 mm distal to the last implant, which was used as a length standard to correct for variation in film magnification. Implant restoration resulted in a significant growth of the mandible (baseline: 7.25 ± 0.25 mm, 4 years: 8.18 ± 0.18 mm; P = .05). The growth in dimension appears to occur during the first year of function.