Alveolar Ridge Resorption Following Dental Extraction

The alveolar crest is tooth-related, and the tooth extraction causes its horizontal and vertical resorption.This poses numerous challenges regarding the masticatory function, speech, and digestion, as well as deteriorating the patient's esthetics, self-esteem, and psychological health.This article aims to evaluate the amount of vertical bone resorption following tooth extraction in both socket walls for 3 months using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).Twenty patients requiring a premolar or molar extraction were enrolled in this study (twelve men and eight women, aged 31-65 years).The surgery included atraumatic tooth extraction (including root separation in multi-rooted teeth) under infiltration anesthesia.The CBCT scans (Planmeca Pro Max 3D) were performed twice, following the extraction and 3 months after.The comparison of the buccal wall height for 3 months presented a significant bone resorption of 3.5 ± 2 mm (t = 8.7, p < 0.0001).For the oral wall, the resorption was 2.1 ± 1 mm (t = 9.3, p<0.0001).The estimated correlation between the vertical bone loss of both walls was weak and statistically insignificant (Pearson's ρ = 0.2, p = 0.3).The mean difference between the resorptions was statistically significant -1.4 mm (t = 3; p = 0.005), suggesting that the resorption in the control group did not proceed evenly, but was more pronounced in the buccal wall.A weak, statistically insignificant correlation was established between the resorption of the buccal and palatal/lingual plates, demonstrating that they did not affect each other.