Psychological reactions to edentulousness and treatment with jawbone-anchored bridges.

Total edentulousness can lead to chewing problems as well as to feelings of insecurity and inferiority and considerable psycho-social problems. For many people a conventional removable denture is unsatisfactory. A new method - osseointegration - involves a titanium screw being operated into the jawbone and the attachment of a fixed bridge. In a controlled study, 26 patients were examined pre- and postoperatively 3 months and then 2 years after the insertion of a jawbone-anchored bridge. The majority of them state that there has been a significant improvement in their lives, that they have regained confidence in themselves, and that, in contrast to a conventional denture, they accept the fixed bridge as part of their body. More attention should be focused on psychological reactions to total edentulousness. Individuals who cannot be rehabilitated by means of conventional prosthetic procedures should be given the opportunity of having a jawbone-anchored bridge inserted. Such treatment means an odontological and psycho-social restitutio ad integrum.