Frequency and characteristics of gnathic dense bone islands in a paediatric population residing in Chandigarh, India: a cross-sectional radiographic study.

AIM

To determine the frequency and characteristics of Dense Bone Islands (DBIs) in a paediatric population residing in Chandigarh, India.

METHODOLOGY

A total of 3614 orthopantomographs (OPG) of children between the age group of 6-18 years were collected from the database of patients who underwent panoramic radiography for routine dental treatment during the period of 2018-2020. The shape, location of the lesion, and relationship of the Dense Bone Island with the tooth were identified. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Categorical variables were compared using the Chi-square test with Yate's correction. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

DBIs were identified in 165 OPGs resulting in a prevalence of 4.56% out of which 92.1% were in the mandible and only 7.9% in the maxilla (p < 0.001). Most were of those aged between 13 and 18 years. More than half of the lesions had apical (32%) relationship with the tooth and only 14% were identified separately. Most of the DBIs were round or oval shaped (75.8%) and the rest were irregularly shaped (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of DBIs was lower in the younger children and diagnosis is often incidental during routine radiological examination. They do not seem to elicit any signs with clinical significance, but regular follow up is necessary to differentiate these from other benign or malignant osteoblastic entities.