Mandibular cortex correlates to alveolar bone density in indonesian women aged 40 to 75 years

The aim of this research is to study the correlation between the mandibular cortex of panoramic radiograph and grey scale value of alveolar bone on the periapical digital radiograph among Indonesian women aged 40 years to 75 years. A cross-sectional study was conduct by performing panoramic radiograph to assess mandible cortex index, as well as digital dental radiograph to obtain grey scale value of the alveolar bone. The intra oral periapical digital radiographs were made in the region of mandible premolar, and by utilizing density measurement tool in Digora for window software all digital images were analyzed to obtain the mean grey scale value of each region of interest (ROI). It is showed in 102 subjects with C1, C2 and C3 mandible cortex index revealed mean alveolar bone grey scale value of 141.23 (±20.93), 100.94 (±13.67), and 96.01 (±16.83) respectively. Pearson's correlation between alveolar bone density and mandible cortex index was 0.711 with <0.001 significance. Alveolar bone grey scale value obtained from digital dental radiograph has significant correlation with mandibular cortex index. The digital dental radiograph has the potential usefulness for identifying osteoporosis as on panoramic radiograph.