[Mandibular atrophy and metabolic bone loss].

Radiological studies in edentulous patients with and without atrophy of the mandible and radiological, histomorphometrical and endocrinological studies in edentulous patients with a severe atrophy of the mandible and treated by ridge augmentation has shown that: metabolic bone loss, histologically and endocrinologically characterized as a secondary hyperfunction of the parathyroid glands, is a causal factor in the pathogenesis of mandibular atrophy.