Evaluation of the effect of osteoporosis on mandible with mandibular indexes using panoramic radiography and cone beam computed tomography.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effects of osteoporosis (OP) using panoramic mandibular index (PMI) and mandibular cortical index (MCI) in panoramic radiographic and cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) images and to demonstrate any advantages of CBCT versus panoramic imaging in those indexes.Materials & Methods: 36 female patients (18 with osteoporosis and 18 with no systemic disease) who had panoramic radiographic and CBCT indication due to dental problems were involved in the study. PMI and MCI are evaluated on both panoramic and CBCT images. Differences between patient groups are analyzed by the Kruskal Wallis test, and differences between imaging techniques are analyzed by impaired t-tests ignoring patient groups in confidence interval 95%. Results: In CBCT images, PMIs were significantly lower in patients with osteoporosis than in the control group (p=0.004), and there was no significant difference between the patient and control group in panoramic images (p=0.085). In both imaging techniques, MCIs were significantly higher in the osteoporosis group than in the control group (p=0.000). CBCT showed a significant advantage on PMI to panoramic images (p=0.05).Conclusion: Systemic diseases affect bone tissue in different levels, and to evaluate these effects, cortical and trabecular bone parts must be investigated separately, and findings must be combined with patients’ clinical symptoms. CBCT has advantages in PMI evaluations to panoramic radiography.