[Oral function and morphology of jaw bone].

ABSTRACT

It is said that the morphology of the jaw bone is greatly effected by the loss of teeth compared with the aging. To know the morphological changes of the mandible and maxilla with loss of the teeth is essential to reconstruct oral function. Therefore, we compared the edentulous jaw bone with the dentulous one. It is observed that the height of the maxilla and mandible is rapidly shortened in edentulous jaw bone. Based on these findings, it is suggested that maintenance of the intact teeth is important to keep the normal morphology of the jaw bone.