Comparative evaluation of mandibular ridge resorption in nondiabetic and diabetic edentulous post-menopausal women- A cross-sectional study

Background: To investigate the amount of mandibular ridge resorption in nondiabetic and diabetic completely edentulous post-menopausal women and to describe the effects of age, duration of edentulousness, time since attaining menopause and duration of diabetes mellitus. Methods: A cross-sectional, pilot study was conducted on 20 completely edentulous women (10 nondiabetic and 10 diabetic with type 2 diabetes) with a mean age of 56 years (range of 45 to 67 years). Resorption in the mandibular residual ridges was assessed by using the mental foramen and the inferior border of the mandible, as they appear in panoramic radiographs, as reference points using Wical and Swoope Analysis method. The orthopantomograms were digitized using scanner and measurements were performed. The amount of mandibular ridge resorption was calculated and compared between nondiabetic and diabetic groups. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 20. A paired t-test was used to evaluate the differences in mean values of mandibular ridge resorption between nondiabetics and diabetics. Level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: The mean mandibular residual ridge resorption of all participants was 15.71 mm, diabetic group (10.79mm) had 0.5 times more resorption compared with control group (20.62mm). Conclusion: Completely edentulous, postmenopausal diabetic women have more residual ridge resorption than completely edentulous, postmenopausal nondiabetic women.