Subpontic osseous proliferation.

Nine patients, five women and four men, demonstrated bone growth in an edentulous region of the posterior mandible covered with a pontic. The reasons for this bone growth could include genetic predetermination, functional stresses, and chronic irritation. This bone growth has important clinical and basic science implications. The condition was seen only in adults, only in the mandibular posterior region, and with a variety of pontic designs. Subpontic osseous proliferation was documented in nine patients, but no conclusion about the etiology was made.