Morphological analysis of mandibular anterior alveolar bone in high-angle adult females assessed with cone-beam computed tomography

Abstract

Objective To investigate the features of alveolar bone morphology of mandibular central incisors in high-angle adult females using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and evaluate the influence of aging in these patients. Methods CBCT and lateral cephalometric images of 142 untreated adult female patients were selected and grouped by facial growth pattern. The number of high-angle cases was increased to 164 to further explore the difference within high-angle adult females who were divided into two groups according to age. The indexes of alveolar bone height and thickness in the lower incisor region and inclination of the lower incisors were measured by Dolphin software. The data was statistically analyzed. Results Compared with the average-angle group, the high-angle group had a lower alveolar bone attachment level (P 0.05) was found between the two groups. Conclusion High-angle adult females had thinner mandibular anterior alveolar bone with significantly lower attachment levels. Aging and inclination of lower incisors influenced bone morphology and should be taken into careful consideration.

Keywords

• alveolar bone morphology
• cone-beam ct
• lower incisor
• incisor inclination
• alveolar bone thickness
• adult female
• high angle
• age-related changes
• attachment loss
• orthodontic treatment