Is a Ridge Classification Helpful when Assessing Edentulous Patients?

The Standards for Clinical Examination and Record-Keeping (Faculty of General Dental Practitioners UK) provides guidance to clinicians on what should be documented during history-taking and a full examination. For patients seeking removable prosthodontic treatment, it is advised that an examination of the denture-bearing tissues is undertaken, noting presence of any tori, undercuts and any other bony or soft tissue lesions.¹ This documented information should lead to a clearly recorded diagnosis, treatment option discussion and treatment plan agreed with the patient. This process aids clinicians in assessing the complexity of a case and predicting any challenges that they may encounter. For complete denture construction it will allow the patient to make an informed decision and reflect on whether he/she finds that the benefits of having new dentures outweigh any potential disadvantages.

The assessment for complete denture construction includes previous denture-wearing history, assessment of any available dentures, patient factors such as the ability to adapt to dentures, and an examination of the oral environment. In this regard, the clinician should examine the denture-bearing areas and note down a description of the shape of the residual ridge.² This information is documented as part of the clinical records and will be part of the diagnosis as this will detail the degree of resorption that has taken place since the loss of the natural teeth. The resorption pattern assists in understanding the success of the final prosthesis. Although there is no proven direct relationship between ridge shape and success of dentures, the initial description of the ridge shape can be useful in discussions as to why previous dentures may not have been successful. The aim of this article is to describe a modified approach to describing edentulous ridge shapes with the objective of aiding in communication between colleagues, and as a tool to patients' anticipated challenges in constructing complete dentures, therefore managing expectations.