Visibility of trabecular structures in oral radiographs.

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether alveolar trabecular bone is visible and quantifiable in projection radiographs. Radiographic changes in oral trabecular bone have been studied as possible indications of bone loss, but in some previous studies, observed structures have been attributed entirely to the endosteal surface.

METHODS

Computed radiography (CR) images of human mandibles in molar and pre-molar regions were compared with simulations calculated from high-resolution computed-tomography (CT) and micro-CT volumes. By digitally editing the CT volumes, the simulations were separated into trabecular and cortical components. High-pass-filtered CR images revealed structural details of cortical and trabecular bone.

RESULTS

Trabecular bone constitutes as much as 38% of the total alveolar bone, and accounts for most of the observed alveolar fine structure. Several morphological types of fine structure can be distinguished. The noise in filtered images appears to be a meaningful measure of trabecular bone.

CONCLUSION

Trabecular bone is highly visible in intraoral radiographs.