Study of available bone for interforaminal implant treatment using cone-beam computed tomography.

OBJECTIVES To analyze the availability of bone in the interforaminal region and to demonstrate the variation in diagnosis between panoramic x-ray and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). MATERIAL AND METHODS In 50 patients and in 5 areas of each, a series of parameters concerning available bone were measured on both the panoramic and the CT images. RESULTS Panoramic images underestimate the vertical and horizontal measurements when compared with CBCT. Regarding implant treatment, the interforaminal region presents the same remaining bone height throughout its full extent, the correlation between one side of the midline and the other was highly significant for all the parameters studied, and 20% of the sample showed some buccal and/or lingual concavity. CONCLUSION Cone-beam CT is an advantageous system for interforaminal implant treatment planning, especially since the reported radiation dose is minimal and geometric accuracy is very high.