Assessment of alveolar bone height in adolescents utilizing Cone Beam Computed Tomography: a retrospective radiographic analysis

Abstract

Background: To assess the alveolar bone crest level (ABCL) by Cone Beam Computed To-mography (CBCT) and to investigate several variables as predictors for the height of the alveolar bone in adolescents. Materials and methods: Age, sex, and ethnic groups were rec-orded for each patient. CBCT images were used to obtain measurements of the interproximal alveolar bone level from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) to the alveolar crest. The highest measurement in each sextant was recorded along with any presence of a vertical bone defect or calculus. Results: Total of 720 measurements were recorded for 120 subjects. No vertical bony defects or calculus were observed radiographically. Statistically significant (P< 0.05) differences were observed between ABCL measurements of males as compared to females, posterior teeth compared to anterior teeth and maxillary sextants in comparison to man-dibular ones. Additionally, value of ABCL significantly increased in relation to sex (r=0.309), maxillary posterior (r=0.509) and mandibular posterior sextants (r=0.506). Linear regression analysis indicated that the latter variables can predict the height of marginal bone, other independent variables were considered redundant. Conclusions: There was a low-profile of marginal bone loss among adolescents. Male sex, posterior teeth, and maxillary teeth have higher tendency for decreasing alveolar bone height.