Evaluation of mandibular bone structure with radio-visiographic method--its usefulness for diagnostic purposes

The noninvasive assessment of the mandible bone structure can be, beside the indices of mineral density and content of mineral elements, the source of valuable information of diagnostic and prognostic importance. The presented examinations aimed at working out a computer program of radiovisiographic picture analysis of the mandible bone, which, on the basis of radiological trabecula algorithm, would enable finding out parameters determining mean number of trabeculas per 1 mm2 of the analysed area, density expressed in percentage of the area covered with trabeculas, mean width and height of radiological trabeculas, and several calculable derivative indices. On the basis of the above mentioned program there was made an analysis of radiovisiograms of 130 patients with diagnosed osteoporosis and of 110 patients without osteoporosis, treated in the Department and Clinic of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical University of Lublin. Slight differences conditioned by sex and age of the patients as well as significant changes in structural indices in patients with generalized osteoporosis were found. The performed tests show that standardized radiovisiographic examinations of mandibular bones completed with computer structure analysis by Radiograph Workshop program can be helpful in diagnostic of osseous changes in mandibular bones.