RESUMO
The resorption of edentulous alveolar crests has been correlated to a variety of factors which may be briefly summarised as anatomic, metabolic, functional and prosthetic factors. With regard to functional factors, some researchers have found that some psychological aspects in edentulous subjects may be indicative of a parafunctional damaging habit leading to consequent alterations of the physical characteristics of forces applied to the bone. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether alveolar crest resorption in edentulous subjects was correlated to aspects of their psychological status, such as trait anxiety and the presence of psychosomatic symptoms. A group of 70 totally edentulous subjects were examined and trait anxiety and the presence of psychosomatic symptoms were evaluated. The orthopantomographies of the 70 subjects were then analysed in order to assess the degree of edentulous crest resorption. The present study showed the absence of statistically significant correlations between edentulous crest resorption and trait anxiety and between edentulous crest resorption and the presence of psychosomatic symptoms. These results appear to indicate that "anxious" subjects might not have parafunctional habits or that the latter play a minor role in the process of edentulous mandibular crest resorption.