Bone quality in the midpalate for temporary anchorage devices.

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Dental Implantology
• Bone Histomorphometry

Background:

• Dental implantology increasingly utilizes the palate for anchorage.
• Quantitative assessment of palatal bone quality is crucial for predictable implant outcomes.
• Understanding bone characteristics informs surgical planning and device selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively evaluate the bone quality of the palatal bone for implantologic applications.
• To assess the hard tissue fraction (HTF/TBV), bone marrow fraction (BMF/TBV), and sutural tissue fraction (STF/TBV) in different palatal regions.
• To determine if age influences palatal bone quality relevant to temporary anchorage device (TAD) placement.

Main Methods:

• Autopsy palatal tissue blocks from 22 subjects (18-63 years) were analyzed.
• Specimens included anterior, middle, and posterior regions of the median palate.
• Ground-thin-section technology and histomorphometric analysis were employed to measure tissue fractions.

Main Results:

• The anterior part of the median palate (APMP) showed a mean HTF/TBV of 68.57%.
• No statistically significant differences in tissue fractions were found between the anterior, middle, and posterior palatal regions.
• Age did not significantly affect the hard tissue fraction, bone marrow fraction, or sutural tissue fraction.

Conclusions:

• The adult median palate exhibits a relatively high hard tissue fraction across all assessed regions.
• The bone quality is suitable for achieving good primary stability of temporary anchorage devices (TADs).
• Palatal bone quality is consistent in younger and older adults, supporting its use for TADs regardless of age.