CLINICAL AND RADIOLOGIC ASSESSMENT OF POSSIBILITIES FOR ENDOSSEOUS IMPLANTS AND OSSEOINTEGRATED PROSTHESES IN 55-YEAR-OLD EDENTULOUS SUBJECTS

To determine how many 55-year-old edentulous subjects were suitable ca ndidates for implant-retained overdentures or fixed implant bridges an d how many of them might be interested in such treatment, case histori es were reviewed, and clinical and radiologic examinations were perfor med on 146 subjects (100 women, 46 men) in a medium-sized city in nort hern Finland. Numbers and lengths of implants required in altogether 1 6 regions in the upper and lower jaw were evaluated. The commonest imp lant length was 8 mm in the upper jaw and 16 mm in the lower jaw. Cons truction of an implant-retained fixed bridge would have been possible in the upper jaw in 121 subjects (83%) and of an overdenture in all lo wer jaws. Information about the benefits of the treatment is important because, although the percentage of subjects who were suitable candid ates for implant-retained prostheses was high, few subjects were aware of or interested in this type of treatment.