Cone-beam CT (CBCT) helped researchers from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand identify a relationship between severe periodontal bone loss and mucosal thickening of the maxillary sinus (Journal of Periodontology, September 12, 2011).
The researchers studied 250 cone-beam CT scans of dental patients to assess periodontal bone loss, periapical lesions, and root canal fillings in the upper posterior teeth. They also recorded the presence of mucosal thickening and mucosal cysts of the maxillary sinus. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influence of periodontal bone loss, periapical lesions, and root canal fillings on the sinus mucosal abnormalities.
They found that mucosal thickening was present in 42% of the subjects and in 29.2% of the sinuses. In addition, mucosal cysts were observed in 16.4% of the subjects and 10% of the sinuses. Both abnormalities were present more frequently among males than females.
Severe bone loss was significantly associated with mucosal thickening (p < 0.001), whereas periapical lesions and root canal fillings were not. There was no association between dental findings and mucosal cysts, the researchers noted.
"Severe periodontal bone loss was significantly associated with mucosal thickening of the maxillary sinus," co-author Sirikarn Phothikhun and colleagues concluded. "Sinuses with severe periodontal bone loss were three times more likely to have mucosal thickening."
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