“Evaluation and comparison of alveolar bone loss of maxilla and mandible in completely edentulous patients on digital panoramic radiographs”

• Author Details:   
• Samiksha Acharya
• VK Lohe
• RR Bhowate

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Aim: Evaluation and comparison of alveolar bone loss of maxilla and mandible in completely edentulous patients on digital panoramic radiographs.
Methods: Alveolar bone loss was evaluated on digital panoramic radiograph. In maxilla, alveolar bone height was evaluated by a horizontal line joining both inferior margins of the infraorbital margin (Lz) was drawn. The midline was determined by vertical line joining the Lz to the nasal septum. Another vertical line joining from premolar region and molar region represented vertical distances from line Lz to the alveolar crest. In the mandible, a line was drawn tangential to the most inferior points at angle of mandible and the lower border of the mandible. The measurement of the midline to alveolar crest, for premolar and molar region the line vertically drawn at the mental foramen region for premolar region and another vertical line drawn from the molar region to alveolar crest.
Results: The mandible showed significant bone loss (p<0.05) as compared to maxilla. There was significantly (p<0.05) more bone loss in females as compared with males and denture wearers showed significant (p<0.05) amount of bone loss as compared with non-denture wearers.
Conclusions: The total alveolar bone loss was greater in mandible as compared with maxilla. The denture wearer has more bone loss as compared with the non-denture wearers and females had more bone loss as compared to male.

Keywords: Alveolar bone loss (ABL), Alveolar bone height (ABH), Total alveolar bone loss (T-ABL), Denture wearer (DW), Non-denture wearer (NDW)