Evaluation of proximity of the floor of the maxillary sinus to the alveolar bone crest, using digital panoramic imaging system, in Erbil city

Background and objectives: measuring the distance between the lowest point of the maxillary sinus floor and maxillary alveolar bone crest seen in the digital panoramic images and the effect of alveolar bone resorption to evaluate the clinical benefit of using software measurement program to measure the height of the alveolar bone in the region of maxillary sinus. Method: Digital panoramic images were analyzed using the software computer programs that existed in the system to measure the distance from the lowest point of the maxillary sinus floor and maxillary alveolar bone crest. Images were divided into four groups (1st group dentulous cases, 2nd group single dental extraction, 3rd group multiple dental extraction, 4th group edentulous cases) and each group consist of 50 panoramic images. Results: The mean distance of sinus floor to bone crest in fourth group cases was approximately half of the distance in first group due to extraction of teeth and there was highly significant difference (P<0.001) between first group, third group and fourth group images, and there was significant difference (P<0.005)between first group and second group images. Conclusion: It was concluded that the objective assessment of alveolar bone height and its 2-dimensional relation to maxillary teeth was greatly helpful by applying the software program.