Panoramic Indices: An Aid to Early Detection of Patients with Low Bone Mineral Density

Objective  An early identification of patients who are at an obvious increased risk of osteoporosis and subsequent high risk of pathological bone fractures is important to prevent morbidity and its subsequent impact on the quality of life of the affected patients. Dental professionals have a chance of identifying such cases in their very initial stages through routinely prescribed dental radiographs. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of gender and age on different parameters of alveolar bone loss using orthopantomograph (OPG) as an aid to identify patients with low bone mineral density (BMD). Materials and Methods  This study included eighty subjects in whom after taking OPGs, mandibular cortical index (MCI), mandibular cortical width (MCW), and panoramic mandibular index were assessed, while the results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. One-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's test was used to compare the means, while p -value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results  The findings of this study revealed a significant association between MCI and age for females, with C2 and C3 categories being more common with advancing age. Also, a significant difference could be seen in relation to gender ( p -value = 0.0315) for MCW with a concomitant decrease in the values of MCW in females over 60 years of age. Conclusion  Panoramic radiographic measurements could provide valuable information and help in screening patients with low BMD.