Shortened dental arch: a review of current treatment concepts.

It is generally assumed that dentition has ceased to be a predominant selection factor in the process of human evolution. With differentiation and reintegration of the human species, gross differences in the morphology and physiology of the stomatognathic system have become apparent. Variability and adaptation of this system have proven that deviations from what may be considered ideal are not pathologic but may, in fact, prove to be a range of normality in this general pattern of evolution. The treatment of patients according to inflexible postulates may be detrimental to the individual patient and the concept of a variable and patient-specific optimal dentition should be considered, especially in the context of the shortened dental arch.