An atrophied mandible with poor retention: what is the MOST appropriate treatment plan?

Correct answer: B. Implant-retained overdenture

• A. Incorrect. An implant-retained FIXED denture requires adequate bone volume for multiple implants and significant financial/surgical commitment. While ideal for some, an implant-retained overdenture is the recommended first choice.
• B. Correct. Per the McGill Consensus Statement (2002) and York Consensus (2009), the IMPLANT-RETAINED OVERDENTURE is the standard of care for the edentulous mandible with poor retention. Two implants supporting an overdenture is the minimum standard, providing dramatically improved retention over conventional dentures while being less invasive and expensive than fixed implant prostheses.
• C. Incorrect. Mini-implant overdentures may be appropriate for patients who cannot tolerate standard implant surgery, but the evidence-based first-line choice is standard implant-retained overdenture.
• D. Incorrect. A conventional complete denture on a severely atrophied mandible has very poor retention and is problematic — it does not address the fundamental problem of bone loss.