The frequency of maxillary sinus pathologic findings in cone-beam computed tomography images of patients candidate for dental implant treatment

BACKGROUND: Maxillary sinus pathologic conditions increase the risk of complications during sinus augmentation surgeries in the posterior maxilla. The present study aimed to determine the frequencies of maxillary sinus pathologic findings on patients’ cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images to receive dental implants. METHODS: In this descriptive/cross-sectional study, 140 CBCT images of patients who were candidates to receive dental implants were evaluated for the presence of maxillary sinus pathologic entities during 6 months, were divided into five categories: mucosal thickening of >5 mm, retention cyst, partial or complete opacification of the sinus, polypoidal mucosal thickening, and healthy patients. Age, gender, and dental status were evaluated in terms of relationship with the sinus pathologic findings. Absolute and relative frequencies were used to describe data. The chi-squared test was used to analyze the variables. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. RESULTS: The frequency of maxillary sinus pathologic entities on CBCT images was 63.5%. The pathologic conditions in descending frequency were as follows: mucosal thickening (31.4%), retention cyst (17.1%), partial or complete opacification of the sinus (9.3%), and polypoidal mucosal thickening (5.7%). The frequency of pathologic findings in the maxillary sinus was higher in the <46-year age group and subjects with partial edentulism; however, the differences were not significant. CONCLUSION: In the present study, the most frequent maxillary sinus pathologic entity was mucosal thickening. There was no relationship between age, sex, and dentition status and maxillary sinus pathologic findings.