Bone and aging: effects on the maxillofacial skeleton.

The originally balanced system of normal bone metabolism with an equilibrium of bone resorption and bone formation experiences involutionary changes along with increasing age. This article provides an overview on the effects of aging on bone, in particular on the bone of the maxillofacial skeleton. It explains differences between the postmenopausal type and the senile type of osteoporosis, deals with age-related morphologic changes of bone, mechanisms leading to age-related changes, depicts bones at high fracture risk in aging persons, analyses the reduced bone quantity and quality in cranial bone, and discusses the preservation of maxillofacial bone dimensions by implants. Therefore, research on wound healing, in particular bone healing, and on the regenerative potential of tissue of mesenchymal origin is of major interest and will eventually translate into improved care for patients during daily clinical routine.