Evaluation of the buccolingual position of maxillary and mandibular anteriorteeth roots by cone-beam computed tomography(CBCT)

Evaluation of the position of anterior teeth in the alveolar bone for planning implant treatments is so important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the thickness of buccolingual/palatal bone at anterior teeth roots and the angle between the tooth root axis and alveolar bone axis.

In this cross-sectional study, the position of root apex, angle between the tooth root axis and alveolar bone axis as well as thickness of buccolingual/palatal bone in 2,4,6 mm from alveolar crest and root apex areas were evaluated in the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of 360 maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth. The data were then analyzed by ANOVA and t-test.

Twenty eight females and 27 males with the mean age of 43.13 ± 10.91 participated (181 female teeth and 179 male teeth) in the current study. In maxillary anterior teeth, the buccal bone thickness was thinner than the palatal bone and was significantly smaller in females than males (p≤0.0001). The thinnest area in buccal bone was in 4mm from alveolar crest in female’s lateral incisor of maxilla (0.09±0.02). The thickness of the palatal bone in the maxillary lateral incisors was significantly thicker in females than males. The thickness of lingual bone was thicker in mandibular lateral incisors and canines than in buccal bone and the lingual bone thickness was significantly thicker in males than females. The apex position of anterior teeth was predominantly buccally in the maxilla (%94), while it was middle in the mandible (%44).

Due to the small thickness of buccal bone, evaluation of the position of implant fixtures in maxillary anterior teeth is of great importance.