The differences in panoramic mandibular indices and fractal dimension between patients with and without spinal osteoporosis

Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate the relationship between osteoporosis, oral signs, body mass index and age; and to assess the possibility of using these parameters as an indicator of post-menopausal osteoporosis. The oral signs were panoramic-based mandibular indices, such as cortical width, cortical index, panoramic mandibular index and mandibular crest resorption degree; the number of teeth and fractal dimension analysis. Methods: Forty-eight post-menopausal women between the ages of 40 years and 64 years were evaluated. Mandibular indices and the number of mandibular teeth were measured and evaluated from panoramic radiographs and fractal dimension was calculated from the direct digital periapical radiographs of the mandibular premolar-molar region in box-counting method. Weight, height, menopausal status and age of the patients were recorded by questionnaire. Bone mineral densities of the patients were measured with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: In this study there were no statistically significant differences between the osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic patients for cortical width, panoramic mandibular index, alveolar crest resorption degree, fractal dimension and the number of mandibular teeth, but there was a difference for cortical index. Binary logistic regression analyses demonstrated that age (P = 0.015) was an important risk factor for osteoporosis. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that osteoporotic patients were more likely to have altered inferior cortex morphology than non-osteoporotic patients and age is an important risk factor for osteoporosis. © 2006 The British Institute of Radiology.