Evaluation of facial alveolar bone dimension of maxillary anterior teeth: A cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) investigation

Evaluation of the thickness of the alveolar bone is important for the selection of an appropriate treatment approach in patients undergoing postextraction implant placement. The purpose of this study was to analyze the thickness of the facial bone wall at teeth in the anterior maxilla based on CBCT images. Subjects and In this descriptive-analytic study, tomographic data from 29 patients (12 males, 17 females) which were acquired by the New Tom VGi, randomly selected and evaluated by two independent observers. The thickness of the facial bone wall was measured at 5 locations: distance between the CEJ and the facial bone crest (D), at the crest level (T1), at the 2 mm apical to the crest (T2), at the middle of the root (T3), at the 1 mm above the root apex (T4). Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and t-test. The majority of the examined teeth exhibited a thin facial bone wall (<1mm). Sex was a statically significant (P<0.05) parameter at the distance between the CEJ and the facial bone crest (which mostly was lower in women than men). Bone resorption occurs at a thin facial bone wall following tooth extraction. Both a missing and thin facial wall require contoure augmentation at implant placement. Consequently, radiographic analysis of the facial bone wall using CBCT prior to extraction is recommended for selection of the appropriate treatment approach. ►Please cite this paper as: Bayati S, Yoosefimanesh H, Mohagheghi A, Ghaemi Sh. Evaluation of Facial Alveolar bone Dimension of Maxillary Anterior Teeth: A Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Investigation. Jundishapur Sci Med J 2016;14(6):661-668.