Morphometric analysis of mandibular bone structure in orthopantomograms of patients with periodontal diseases
Abstract
Panoramic radiographs of eleven patients with juvenile periodontitis and of 30 patients with chronic periodontitis and those of age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were evaluated using the quantitative morphometric method with special emphasis on mandibular trabecular pattern and alveolar bone loss. The diagnosis of juvenile periodontitis and chronic periodontitis was settled by clinical and radiological examinations, and the possibility of any systemic disease was excluded by extensive laboratory tests.
Morphometrically measured volume densities of trabecles (Vt) increased at the expense of medullary space (Vm) in patients with severe chronic periodontitis and juvenile periodontitis. Changes in females were more obvious than in males. The results are discussed in terms of the known histopathological changes found in bone i.e. osteolysis-malacia and osteoporosis. The present results suggest that alterations in mandibular trabecular pattern, whether systemic or local might reflect factors contributing to periodontal diseases.