Texture Analysis of Hard Tissue Changes after Sinus Lift Surgery with Allograft and Xenograft

Abstract

In the realm of dental surgery, implants are essential for replacing missing teeth. To facilitate implant placement, techniques such as bone grafting and sinus lifts are utilized to augment the volume of atrophied alveolar bone in candidates for dental implants. Typically, patients undergo a period of recovery following bone grafts before proceeding with implant placement. This study investigates the efficacy of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in measuring the residual bone volume and assessing bone quality after the healing phase. A texture analysis was conducted on CBCT scans from 42 patients requiring maxillary sinus lift reconstruction. These patients were categorized into two groups based on the type of grafting material used: Xenograft or allograft. The study analyzed the distribution of various texture parameters and conducted a Mann-Whitney U test to identify significant statistical differences between the groups. Results indicated non-normal distributions for specific variables such as Area_S(1,0) and S(1,0)SumOfSqs, while others like S(1,0)Entropy displayed normal distributions. The findings revealed no significant statistical differences in the primary outcomes between the xenograft and allograft groups. However, the average values of the gray shades of pixels in the allograft group were statistically significantly higher compared to the xenograft group, suggesting differences in bone texture post-procedure.