Radiomorphometric Indices and their Relation to Alveolar Bone Loss: A Panoramic Radiographic Study

AIM: To assess the influence of gender and age on different parameters of alveolar bone loss using specific radiomorphometric indices on panoramic radiographs to aid in identifying patients with possible low bone mineral density (BMD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present cross-sectional study included 80 subjects in whom mandibular cortical index (MCI), mandibular cortical width (MCW), panoramic mandibular index (PMI), alveolar bone loss (ABL), and bone height in 1(st) premolar (Hp) and 1(st) molar (Hm) were assessed to evaluate the alveolar bone loss. RESULTS: The findings of the present study revealed a significant association between MCI and age for females with C2 and C3 categories being more common with advancing age. Also, a significant difference could be seen in relation to gender (p-value = 0.0315) for MCW with a concomitant decrease in values of MCW in females >60 years of age. The vertical bone height of the edentulous mandible at 1(st) premolar (Hp) (p-value = 0.0071) and 1(st) molar (Hm) (p-value = 0.0044) regions were also found to be more in males than females. CONCLUSION: Panoramic radiographic measurements provided valuable information for alveolar bone loss in terms of gender and age based on specific radiomorphometric parameters.