Age-related changes of alveolar bone in maxillary posterior based on cone-beam CT

Objective·To measure and analyze age-related changes in cortical bone thickness and alveolar bone height and width in the posterior teeth of the maxilla.Methods·Cone-beam CT (CBCT) data of the implant patients in the Department of Stomatology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine were collected from January 2019 to December 2022. There were 40 cases in the youth group (18‒30 years) and 40 cases in the elderly group (≥60 years), with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶1. The i-Dixel software was used to measure the thickness of buccal and palatal cortical bone, and the width and height of alveolar bone in three regions of the posterior teeth of the maxilla on the side with regular dentition (part Ⅰ: between the first and the second premolar of maxillary; part Ⅱ: between the second premolar and the first molar of maxillary; part Ⅲ: between the first and the second molar of maxillary), and the differences between different groups were compared.Results·In part Ⅲ, the buccal cortical bone thickness of the elderly men [(1.49±0.29) mm] was significantly greater than that of the young men [(1.11±0.34) mm] (P<0.001). In part Ⅰ and Ⅱ, the thickness of palatal cortical bone in the elderly women [part Ⅰ: (1.27±0.30) mm; part Ⅱ: (1.28±0.27) mm] was significantly smaller than that in the young women [part Ⅰ: (1.70±0.32) mm; part Ⅱ: (1.58±0.61) mm] (P<0.05). The width of alveolar bone showed a trend of being smaller in the elderly group than in the young group in all three regions, but there were significant differences only between the elderly males [part Ⅱ: (8.61±1.15) mm; part Ⅲ: (11.06±2.40) mm] and the young males [part Ⅱ: (10.29±1.69) mm; part Ⅲ: (13.39±1.59) mm] in the part Ⅱ and Ⅲ (P<0.05). The alveolar bone height in part Ⅰ and Ⅱ was significantly greater in elderly men and women than that in the young men and women, respectively (P<0.05). In the elderly group, the thickness of buccal cortical bone in men was significantly greater than that in women in part Ⅰ and Ⅲ (P<0.05).Conclusion·The thickness of palatal cortical bone in female maxillary posterior teeth significantly decreases with age; the width of alveolar bone in maxillary posterior region shows a narrowing trend with age, especially in elderly men; the height of alveolar bone in the maxillary posterior region of the elderly increases significantly.