Prevalence and morphometric analysis of Idiopathic Osteosclerosis in a Chilean population.

The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence and morphometric parameters of idiopathic osteosclerosis (IO) in a Chilean population. IO is an intraosseous growth of compact, benign, unilocular, non-expandable bone that is referred to as an anatomical variation. A cross-sectional study was performed using 1000 digital panoramic radiographs of adults in which data on the location (maxillary/mandibular, right/left hemiarcades), shape, position to the dental apex, and the prevalence of IOs were observed in relation to gender and age. The morphometric parameters evaluated were area, height, width, and the linear distances of the IO up to the midline and at the base of the mandible. The overall prevalence was 2.8% (27 individuals), with the majority of cases in women (66.7%) in the second, third, and fifth decades of life, but without significant differences. All cases were present in the mandible (100%), usually in the left hemiarcade (59.3%), molar (48.2%) and premolar (44.4%) regions; at the height of the dental apices (65.5%), with an irregular shape (40.7%) and round (37%). The area of the IOs was 33.9 (± 20.1) mm², with a height of 7.7 (± 3.1) mm, width of 6.6 (± 3.1) mm, and the distance from the IO to the mandible median line was 26.6 (± 10.7) mm and 9.7 (± 3.7) mm to the mandibular base. All the data observed corroborate with previous studies; the IO does not present a large difference in the Chilean population evaluated compared to previous studies carried out in other populations.