Position of teeth on the edentulous atrophic maxilla.

For prosthetic treatment of strongly atrophic alveolar wall, some biometric methods have been developed. The measurements taken from plaster cast models of 230 edentulous, average 29.9 years, and 125 dentulous post-menopausal women were correlated. In the edentulous maxilla the sagittal position of canine teeth can be determined by the oral edge of incisive papilla. The transverse position of canine teeth was on the outer edge of the alveolar wall because of the extensive loss of buccal alveolar bone. On the incisor area the facial surfaces of the central incisors were determined by the oral edge of incisive papilla and the distance was about twice the length of the papilla. The sagittal position of the first premolars was one-third and the first molars two-thirds the length of the palate from the plane of the labial edge of incisive papilla. The transverse position of the premolars and molars was determined by the scar-line, which is a cord-like elevation or track on the alveolar mucosa after extractions of the teeth. According to the comparative method, the position of the scar-line differed from the lingual gingival margin line and was situated about half breadth of the tooth in a buccal direction from it. The transverse position of premolar and molar in the edentulous maxilla is about the middle of the scar-line in a facio-buccal direction. In the setting of the artificial teeth, the facial surfaces of these teeth should be on average 5.0-6.0 mm sideways from the scar-line, whilst the total bilateral breadth of the alveolar wall in the sulcus area was on average 1.0-2.0 mm larger.