Alveolar cortical bone.

Abstract

I read the article by Ohiomoba et al in the January issue and appreciated the accomplishment and results of this retrospective clinical study (Ohiomoba H, Sonis A, Yansane A, Friedland B. Quantitative evaluation of maxillary alveolar cortical bone thickness and density using computed tomography imaging. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2017;151:82-91). The authors proposed to characterize alveolar cortical bone thickness and density in the maxilla and to explore patient factors that may significantly affect these bone properties. However, when I analyzed the sample exclusion criteria, I saw that only multiple missing teeth were considered. Why was not only 1 missing tooth considered, if we know that a missing tooth predisposes bone alterations in relation to bone characteristics (height, thickness, density)? Another point that I think is important is the age considered in the inclusion criteria. I believe that patients aged 12 years are too young to include in a sample to evaluate bone characteristics, because at that age osseous growth is happening, so this can influence the results in terms of bone formation in the regions, especially in relation to bone maturity and density. Quantitative evaluation of maxillary alveolar cortical bone thickness and density using computed tomography imagingAmerican Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial OrthopedicsVol. 151Issue 1PreviewPrimary stability is essential to the success of orthodontic mini-implants (OMIs) and heavily depends on the mechanical retention between OMIs and their supporting bone. Alveolar cortical bone commonly serves as the supporting bone for OMIs during treatment. The purposes of this study were to characterize alveolar cortical bone thickness and density in the maxilla and to explore patient factors that may significantly affect these bone properties. Full-Text PDF Authors' responseAmerican Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial OrthopedicsVol. 153Issue 1PreviewThank you for your comments on our study published in the AJO-DO (Ohiomoba H, Sonis A, Yansane A, Friedland B. Quantitative evaluation of maxillary alveolar cortical bone thickness and density using computed tomography imaging Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2017;151:82-91), and we are pleased to respond to those comments. Full-Text PDF